Where I Belong
by bnpwrites
Summary: Bella Swan never expected superstar Edward Cullen to wander into Walgreen's and she never expected him to change her life.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** : Thanks to my magical beta for polishing me up real pretty and reminding me to put the words on the page. Any mistakes still lurking about are mine and mine alone.

$1.99, $1.99, $1.99, $1.99… gun jam. Two quick smacks in just the right place. $1.99, $1.99, $1.99, $1.99…. gun jam. Two smacks and a big long annoyed sigh.

"Go get the new gun, Bella," Mike called from the front register. He sounded both amused and exasperated.

Bella understood the exasperation but she couldn't sign on with the amused. For a solid half an hour she tagged post Valentine's Day discounted lube. In that time, she smacked the pricing gun a total of twenty-two times, morphed from annoyed to resigned, and contemplated the sad state of an unpurchased bottle of lube.

Sure she could have moseyed on back to the stock room and grabbed the new, less masochistic gun, but that would have required getting up. Way too much getting up.

Before she could remind Mike about her dedication to being as slothful as possible, Bella heard the soft slide of automatic doors as Mike called out the customary Walgreen's greeting. She shrugged to herself and turned back to the lube.

$1.99, $1.99, $1.99, $1.99, this time the gun was saved from her wrath by the unexpected whoosh of someone sliding down the heavily waxed isle on their knees. Bella's surprised confusion turned immediately into laughter when she laid eyes on Jasper Hale, otherwise known as Grandpa J, next to her with his curls shook down over his eyes. In his hands was a large sized Snickers bar he was using as a microphone as he belted out the words to Sugar, Sugar. She hadn't even noticed the song was playing.

Following behind Jasper, looking only mildly amused was Rosalie King. She tossed her messenger bag to the floor and plopped down completing their circle.

"Oh, my God, are you almost done with this shit? Class sucked. I need a drink," Rose huffed.

"I close tonight," Bella replied with yet another sigh.

Rose rolled her eyes and Jasper abandoned his serenade to examine one of the lube packages.

"I feel that unused lube is profoundly sad. Imagine all the people who are not using this lube to have complicated sex," he said shaking his head sadly.

"Imagine all the people who are wasting their time having uncomplicated sex," Bella replied and smacked the gun yet again.

Jasper nodded his agreement.

"I think all sex should be complicated enough to require all parties to sign a waiver," he said.

"I think you two are both directly out of your fucking minds and I'm not sure why I hang out with you," Rose said, blowing her bangs out of her eyes.

Japer and Bella both grinned. Annoying Rose with their ridiculous banter was standard operating procedure.

"Blow this shit off and come to the lake with us," Rose said, pulling on Bella's pony tail.

"Nah, Mike covered for me the other night so I owe him. I can meet you guys after if you're going to be there for a while," she told her friend.

Bella groaned a sad little groan because… the lake. Sure the entire town of Forks shared the lake. But Bella remembered when she was a lowly college freshman struggling through Calculus and the slightly awkward TA offered his expertise and introduced her to the most perfectly secluded, perfectly gorgeous, lakeside beer drinking spot.

"So this grandpa guy invited you out to his spot to drink some beers and didn't flip when you said you were bringing me?" Rose had asked when Bella told her that the TA who was tutoring her invited her to hang out. Rose had been referring to him as grandpa because to her twenty-five was ancient.

"I don't know what his deal is," Bella replied with a shrug. Jasper had been tutoring her for three weeks. He'd asked twice before she agreed to hang out with him completely non-school related. It was amazing how well they got along but Bella just didn't feel the click. Rose was sure it was because he was an adult.

She found out the deal later that night when Rose ventured off into the woods to pee. Bella was a six pack in. She leaned her head over on Jasper's shoulder and told him he could kiss her if he wanted to. She was hoping that maybe she could make herself feel something.

Jasper laughed. It started as a little chuckle and eventually grew into deep belly laughs. It went on long enough for Bella to get just a smidge offended. Then pretty offended. Then she smacked him.

"Bella, you're fucking great," Jasper told her with a smile as he pulled her into a hug. "But we're not that. You don't feel it. I don't feel it. And that's cool. We're good just like we are. I just want to be your friend."

Rose was both shocked and amazed when Bella relayed the story to her. But she accepted it for what it was.

"I guess when you get that age you figure out how to have female friends," she laughed.

Sophomore year came and went and junior year flew by. Despite the awkward makeup, the trio worked. It practically gutted Bella to know instead of drinking beer on the tail gate of Jasper's truck at the lake, she would be spending the bulk of her night at work.

Bella glanced at the clock for what felt like the thousandth time that night. 11:42. It was like that time keeping monster was running more slowly just to spite her. She gave it the finger. She dropped the accusing finger quickly when the doors slid open.

"Welcome to Walgreens," she said slapping on her retail smile.

The grunt that came from the ball cap clad gentleman wasn't inviting but it was retail standard. Customers had a habit of forgetting the people behind the counter were real, live humans who addressed them. Bella felt her smile fade and she turned her gaze back to the clock. 11:43. Rat bastard clock.

She moved from around the counter to the magazine rack to straighten the misplaced gossip rags. She read the headlines without much consideration. Leo was dating another model. Brad and Angie were splitting up…again. Blake Shelton did something redneck. A Kardashian did something trashy. Edward Cullen was spotted hand in hand with the star of some new drama that Bella would never see. Bella wrinkled her nose. The allure of life where your every move was media headlines was lost on her. She didn't aspire to notoriety. Her goals were more along the lines of having enough funds to move out of her dad's place. She hoped that if she really worked hard, that place would have a fridge filled with Killian's instead of Bud Light.

"Excuse me," the guy from earlier was at the counter. The only item he placed there was a bottle of wine.

"Sorry," Bella told him slapping on the retail smile again as she headed over. "Just tidying up."

"No problem," he replied without looking up from his fishing expedition in his wallet.

His voice was nice. Melodic. And, bonus, he spoke real words to her instead of grunting this time.

"May I see your ID?" Bella asked picking up the wine.

"Uh…"

His hesitation made Bella's nerves twinge. No freaking way was she getting into it with some underage punk who wanted to give her shit ten minutes before close. Then he looked up and she understood. Her mouth dropped open. Her eyes darted to the magazines she'd just organized.

"You're Edward Cullen," her tone was way more accusatory than she meant for it to be.

He looked both hesitant and amused.

"I am," he agreed.

Bella felt her nose wrinkle. Words were out of her mouth before she could put them together the right way. The right way being something without profanity.

"What the fuck are you doing in Forks?"

**WIB**

 _Three Days Before_

"He's only going to retire once, Edward."

Edward Cullen pinched the bridge of his nose. The show last night was the first time in quite a while he'd really felt it. The venue was small and the set list was at least half acoustic. He felt it so good that he rewarded himself with a post-show celebration. The bourbon was smooth. The hits on Gar's hookah were smoother. He expected to have plenty of time to sleep off his excesses. He hadn't expected the landline next to his bed to be trilling like a shrill harpy at eight in the fucking morning. But only one person called that phone. In fact, she was the one who insisted that he have the damn thing.

"Mom, I don't know, there's a lot going on with the show. There's just….a lot," he groaned.

He could think of at least a thousand things he'd rather do than trek off to some Podunk town in Washington to celebrate the retirement of Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He'd rather have a sex tape with the ugly Kardashian leaked. He'd rather do Kimmel after swallowing a bucket full of acid. He'd rather cover Celine Dion for the rest of eternity.

There was a soft sigh on the other end of the line.

"Edward, it's been three years," she said softly.

"Mom, I sent tickets –"

"You know that makes me uncomfortable, Edward. I respect what you do. You know that. But when you're up there you're not… you're not my Edward. You're… you're a rock-star," she said, her uncomfortableness evident in her voice.

It was his turn to sigh. He could understand why his shows weren't her cup of tea. No one really wants to see their youngest child clad in only ripped jeans going on about sex and drugs and rock star shit. And he missed his mother. So much that it ached. But he was a whole other story.

"I'll send a gift, Mom," he said shaking his head.

"A gift?" Another sigh. "Edward, I miss you. I want to see you. I want to see my son. I want to hug my son."

He could hear that she was close to tears. No matter that he was twenty-seven and not seven, his mother's hurt made his heart fracture.

"Mom," he began. He didn't really know what he was going to say. His stomach churned. He didn't know if it was more from the last night's excesses or the thought of being in close proximity with his father again.

"Edward, please," her voice was even softer and he knew without having to see, her cheeks were wet now.

"Mom, don't…. I just… Ok," he relented. "Ok, I'll come."

He heard her breath catch.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, Mom. I'll get my shit together. I should be there by Friday," he told her.

"Oh, Edward, thank you so much! Thank you, baby boy," she gushed.

"Mom, just… just…"

"Just what, sweetheart?" she asked.

Just keep your fucking husband in check, is what he wanted to say.

"Just don't make a big deal about me being there, ok?"

After he hung up the phone, he headed straight to the bathroom and pulled the "emergency only" Xanax bottle form the top shelf and shook one of the little pills into his palm. He downed it as the shower spray heated to nearly scalding. Under the water he made a mental list of all the shit he'd have to do before he left for Washington. Call the guys and let them know he wouldn't be around. Let the house cleaning agency know he'd be away. Call Alice. He leaned his forehead against the shower wall. Alice. Alice was going to fucking love this.

**WIB**

"Good Morning, Big Sister," Edward greeted when Alice answered his call.

"You're up awful early this morning. That can't be a good thing," she remarked dryly.

"You act like I only call when there's trouble," he said with a rueful smile. The meds kicked in just moments before he dialed Alice up. Between that and the late February LA sun shining through his floor to ceiling windows, things didn't seem quite as bleak as they had an hour ago.

"You do only call when there's trouble," Alice said. Edward could picture her with one perfectly sculpted brow arched. "Now get on with it. Tell me Alec isn't going to rehab again. Although, I suppose if there was a "best time" it would be now that the tour is over."

"It's not Alec, Allie," he said.

When Alice's manager switch flipped, she had to be rerouted pretty quickly. Calling her by the childhood nickname seemed to do the trick. When she spoke again her voice was softer. It was sister voice, not management voice.

"What's going on, Edward?" she asked.

"I'm going to Forks," he told her. Best to just lay it out there.

"Shit," Alice cursed. Then she was silent for a moment. Edward didn't reply. He let her compose her thoughts. "Mom got to you didn't she?"

"She did," he agreed.

For a moment they were both silent.

"I don't think you going to Forks is a good idea, Edward," Alice said.

"Are you speaking as my manager or as my sister?"

"Both," her voice sounded heavy.

"You just said that now would be the best time for Alec to go to rehab, but it's not a good time for me to visit our parents?" he asked.

It was easier to discuss the business side of things. Mostly because there was no argument on the other side. Edward being with his father for any amount of time was a bad idea.

"Because rehab is in LA. Rehab is not some backwoods town where they lock you up and throw away the key if you get into an altercation with your father," Alice huffed. "And Alec is the drummer. He's not the pretty face of Midnight Sun Alter. You have a shoot with Spin in two weeks, Edward."

"That's two weeks, Allie. I'll be back in three days tops," he said.

"Mom wants us there for a week," she informed him.

"Fine. A week tops," he said with a shrug. God bless Xanax. He should probably call the pharmacy and get a refill before this little adventure.

"She laid some guilt trip on you didn't she?" Alice asked.

"She cried," he said.

"Pussy," Alice snapped.

"She misses me," he retorted running his hand through his hair. "And I miss her."

"I miss her too, Edward. But this didn't go so well for us last time," Alice reminded him.

"Us? You're not the one who ended up with a dislocated shoulder," Edward snorted.

"Well, not to defend the devil, but you did swing on him first."

"Can we not rehash? I'm going to see my mom. I'm going to pretend I can stand to be in the same room as our father. And then, as soon as I can, I'm coming back to LA and I'm throwing a fucking rager," Edward told his sister.

"You're twenty-seven years old; you're too old to throw a rager. And if you're going, I'm going. Maybe I can keep you out of trouble this time," Alice informed her brother.

"That'll be nice. The whole family under one roof," Edward laughed.

"Just…. just be cool while were there Edward. Don't let him goad you," Alice implored.

"I'll be on my best behavior, scout's honor," Edward said.

"You were never a scout, dipshit," Alice said and hung up on him.

Edward stared out the window for a bit. That went much better than he thought it would. He felt better knowing that Alice would be there with him. Alice would be there to have his back. Even if it all went badly Alice would help him pick up the pieces, just like she always did.

Alice opted to get an earlier flight. And there was a delay at the airport. And another at the rental counter. More like a rabid fan girl at the rental counter. But, on the bright side, all it took was the signature Edward Cullen smirk and he was leaving with a sleek BMW SUV.

All he needed to do was get to Forks and pick up a bottle of wine for Alice. Apparently his mother had been hovering over Alice since she arrived and Alice needed a drink…STAT! He sent Alice a quick text to let her know it would probably be after midnight when he got there. She replied that she'd be up finishing some work stuff. Edward was pretty glad for that. He'd opted out of the prescription haze today and his stomach was in knots. And it wasn't just the anticipation of time with his family, it was the town of Forks itself. After LA, Forks just seemed so…. oppressive. Like the tiny town had four massive, invisible walls that started to close in on him as soon as he entered the city limits.

Luckily there was Walgreens between him and his parents place. He eased into the parking lot and pulled a hat out of his bag before heading in. He wanted his little excursion to the woods to be as low-key as possible. That meant being seen as little as possible. He muttered a hello to the cashier as headed toward the booze isle. He found a mid-range bottle and headed back up to the front. He took a second to admire the cashier's ass in her company khakis before he said anything.

He fished his debit card out as she headed back behind the counter. When she asked for ID he was shocked. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been carded. He was on the cover of the magazine she'd just put away for fucks sake. And normally, that would bug the shit out of him. But when he lifted his eyes to meet hers, the annoyance melted into amusement.

"You're Edward Cullen," she announced.

"I am," he replied.

There were plenty of things she could have said next that wouldn't have shocked him. Declaring herself his biggest fan, saying she had every one of his albums or some obscure relic from eBay, or even a random "I love you" were par for the course. Instead, she asked him what the fuck he was doing in Forks. He died laughing.

"That's what I've been asking myself," he told her.

Regardless of his laughter, her face turned a lovely shade of pink.

"I'm so sorry. That was really unprofessional. But…you're in Forks," she babbled gesturing to the window.

He smiled.

"Are you a member of the paparazzi?" he asked.

She cocked a brow at him.

"I saw Dave Matthews getting a cab once when I was in Seattle and I snapped a picture with my phone," she said.

Something about her dry delivery got to him again. He couldn't help but laugh.

"My parents live here," he told her.

"Oh," she said absently. She scanned and bagged his wine. "That's 22.99."

He smirked.

"No discount?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes.

"You're not worth my job, Mr. Cullen," she told him.

He smiled again as he swiped his card. He glanced at her name tag. Bella.

"Fair enough," he said. "So, Bella, can I ask for a favor that won't cost you your job?"

She shrugged.

"Sure," she replied.

"Can you keep this quiet?" he asked.

It took just a second for her to process what he was talking about.

"What's it worth to you?" she asked. Now she was smirking.

He felt his smile melt away. Was she blacking mailing him with paparazzi? Suddenly it was her turn to burst into laughter. Her laugh was nice.

"Kidding," she told him. "I don't really have anyone to tell. Besides I doubt they'd be able to find Forks anyway."

Edward shook his head and smiled. This girl was certainly out of the ordinary.

"Thanks, Bella," he told her as he grabbed his bag. "See you around."

 **A/N** : Hey y'all.

For Those Who Are Familiar With My Writing: Good to see you, glad you're giving me and my writing another go. Grab your snacks (you're sharing right?) and settle in.

For Those Who Are Not Familiar With My Writing: Hi. Nice to meet you. Things I WON'T promise you about this story: HEA, categories/tags, or that you won't wanna meet me for throat punch Thursday over the course or at the end.

Things I will promise you about this story: I will tell you a story that I've crafted to the best of my ability.

If you're cool with that then awesome, I hope you brought snacks. If not, I respect that and I wish you luck finding stories better suited to your tastes.

Chapter Songs: I've Seen Better Days – Citizen King

Gasoline – Halsey


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Much love to my Comma Queen brwneyedgrl01. Thanks for keeping me on track.

"Who would have thought I would meet a _rockstar_ here in Forks? Bella mussed. "I mean, seriously, Edward Cullen in freaking Walgreens… I didn't even know people like him went into stores on their own. I thought they'd have people to do that for them. I kinda figured they had people to do everything."

Carefully she sprayed cleaner on the etching in the stone and wiped it away with a polishing rag. She already tossed the dead roses and placed the new ones in the attached stone vase.

"It was surreal, Mom," she told her mother. "I didn't even tell Rose and J. I mean who would even believe that shit?"

She stepped back to check out her handy work. Her mother's headstone gleamed in the weak sun light.

"But he was gorgeous, Mom. Beyond gorgeous. You see people like him on TV and you think ' _I bet they look just like everybody else without the makeup and the stylists and shit'_ But nope. He was….I don't know. I don't even have the words for it," she explained as she loaded her supplies in her bag.

Bella shook her head ruefully thinking about the stunning man who turned her night upside down just by showing up. After Edward had left the store, she had a hell of a time finishing up her close out. She had to count the drawer about six times before she finally got it right. When she first got to the lake she couldn't wait to tell her friends about the freak encounter. Then, as she took that first sip of cold larger, she had a change of heart. She wanted to keep it to herself. Just a little special moment to treasure. So she kept her mouth shut until she could reveal to the one person who would always keep her secrets. She sighed and ran her fingers over the top of the granite.

"I miss you, Mom," she said softly.

She glanced at her watch, the sun would start sinking soon, so if she didn't want to walk in the dark she'd have to book it. Most of the time Bella didn't mind her ride-less state, but for her weekly visits with her mom, it was kind of a pain in the ass. She could count on Rose to give her a lift when she was available, but her Dad flat out refused.

It had taken some time, but Bella had come to terms with her mother's suicide. Her Dad had not. On the rare occasion that they discussed Renee Swan's worldly departure, or rather argued about it, Charlie Swan was of the mind that it was a cowardly and selfish thing. Bella couldn't necessarily argue, but she found it pretty hypocritical of him to all judgey since he wasn't exactly the poster boy for being selfless. He hadn't even been around for the first nine years of Bella's life. He had been busy making a career for himself while Renee and Bella lived a separate life in Arizona. Then suddenly, or so it seemed to Bella, he had time for a family again and off they moved to Washington. Only, the happy family thing was only happy for so long. Slowly Renee changed. Bella didn't have a name for it then, but she did now. Depression crept in and Bella's beautiful, vibrant mother dulled and withered. And then she was gone.

Bella willed away the memories and brushed away the tears they left in their wake.

"See you next week, Mom," she promised before she turned to go.

With her backpack across her shoulders, she headed down the cemetery path and through the wrought iron gates. The walk back home would be nice. Forks was quite on Sundays, with folks at church or home doing the family thing. The streets were nearly empty, and Bella felt the sadness that crept in drifting away again.

For a while, after her mom died, Bella was scared of the sadness. She was scared that she would be devoured by it, just like her mom was. Even though she had lived in Forks for a few years, she was still on the outskirts of the kid populace. She wasn't bullied but she didn't really have a circle either. That changed when Rose arrived. She should have been queen of high school due to her blonde and beautiful bitch face. But that beauty was canceled out by her neck to ankle jeans and hoodie getups and her stay the fuck away from me attitude. However, the old adage about misery loving company proved true. Bella and Rose gravitated to one another, they learned how to keep the sadness at bay. They figured out how to laugh again, even though it hurt. They saved each other.

Bella's attention was caught when the sleek SUV that was driving by eased to a stop along the sidewalk in front of her. Her curiosity was peaked but many, many SUV reruns with her dad made her ease off to the opposite side of the walkway. As she approached, she saw the passenger side window was down. Behind the wheel was the fuck-hot man she'd just been telling her mother about.

"Hey little girl, need a ride?" he quipped.

Bella felt her mouth curve up in a smile and her heart started to pound.

"Got any candy?" she asked reaching for the door.

**RS**

True to form, Carlisle Cullen couldn't even say hello to his son without being condescending.

"Good morning, sweetheart," his mother greeted him the morning after his arrival. Both of his parents were in the kitchen having a second cup of coffee.

It was a little after ten and Edward had already went for a run, despite staying up until after two talking and finishing a bottle of wine with his sister.

"Morning," his dad scoffed, glancing at the clock over the top of his paper. "I guess in your line of _work_ you don't see many mornings."

And there it was. The quick comment laced with implication. Edward thought of a handful of things he wanted to snap back as his father disappeared behind the Forks Daily Leader again. When you've been doing it for ten years, it's a career, _dad._ I've seen plenty of mornings, _dad,_ when I'm leaving sold out venues. I just ran three miles because I need to stay in shape for the TV gig, _dad._ Instead of opening his mouth, Edward focused on his mother. She gave him a warm smile and rolled her eyes, encouraging him to blow it off.

"Alice and I made waffles this morning," she told him popping open the microwave. "I made you a plate."

Edward took it from her gratefully.

"It's not champagne and caviar, but hopefully it's up to your standards," came the snotty comment from behind the paper.

Edward gritted his teeth.

"I think I'll take this out on the deck," he told his mother. "Thank you."

"We'll make sure the maid comes to clean up afterward," came the parting shot as he headed out the door.

As he slid the glass door shut behind him, he could hear his mother start the rebuking. Edward sat down at the deck table and attempted to eat. The chocolate chip waffles that he loved since he was a little boy were like soggy cardboard in his mouth.

He shouldn't be angry. He knew this was exactly what was going to happen. This was why he didn't want to be here in the first place. This was the sum of his interaction with his father since he was twelve years old. Edward wasn't sure how or why, but at some point his father had mentally slapped a great big defective label on Edward's head. It seemed nothing he did ever measured up. Good grades should have been better grades. Starring in the school play was simply a display of wasted time that he should have spent studying. The record deal and tours were merely a silly kid's job. Edward heard it all. He learned to take it. To shove down the ache that came from never being able to impress the one person you really wanted to. He probably wouldn't have managed that had it not been for his Mother and his sister. So that made his father's betrayal all the worse.

Edward always thought that the basis of his father's criticism was his _goodness_. His father was an upstanding citizen of strong moral fiber, who made his living healing people. Edward thought that his father's issue with his life stemmed from the parental yearn to see a child do even better in the world than the parent. At least that's what he thought until he went to visit his dad at work and found him banging his nurse.

Edward shook his head at the memory as he stared at the woods bordering his parent's property. It was best not to dwell on that old shit. That would only make the current situation worse. For the time being, he just needed to avoid his dad and keep it cool until he could get back to his life in LA.

He spent most of the day in his room fucking around on his laptop with a new song that had been in the back of his head for a while. It was late in the afternoon when he decided to come out of his hole. He cursed Forks yet again when he realized that the only places that delivered were chain pizza giants. With his hoodie up and his shades on, he hunkered down in the corner at Carl's Jr. After his artery clogging goodness, he texted Alice to see what she was up to. Alice informed him that she was shopping with their mother and she was not there to entertain him, so he'd have to find some way to keep occupied. She also advised him to stay away from their father since there was no one there to supervise.

So he drove aimlessly. That was just another difference between Forks and LA. In Forks, you could drive aimlessly. That was completely impossible in the city. He was considering how he might actually appreciate traffic when he got home, when he noticed someone walking along the sidewalk. As he passed he looked in his rearview and felt himself start to smile when he recognized her. The Wal-greens girl. Bella. The one who made him laugh. He made the corner and looped back. He thought, for just a second, this may be super creeper territory but he shrugged it off. He watched as she approached cautiously. Something tweaked inside him when he saw that her first response to seeing him was to smile.

"Hey little girl, need a ride?" he teased.

"Got any candy?" she joked back as she climbed in.

"Only this roofie pop," he replied.

"Still stuck in Forks, huh?" she asked with an arched brow.

The small smile that started when he recognized her turned into a grin.

"Still with the snappy questions, huh?" he volleyed back. "Where we going?"

"My house," she replied. "Turn left at the light. You would think you'd be accustomed to questions by now being a super famous _rockstar_ and all."

He shrugged as he braked for the light she mentioned.

"I am. It just gets kind of old," he replied.

"You poor, mistreated guy," she said dryly.

He glanced over and her eyes were sparkling. She was teasing him again. He liked that.

"So, you're telling me you'd love to have people badgering you with inane questions?" he asked.

"Now they're badgering? Bet the press would have a field day if they knew what you really thought of them," she was smirking when he looked over this time. This girl.

"Ok, ok," he said nodding. He kept one hand on the wheel and made a fist with the other. He thrust it right under her nose, "Bella, Bella, you just got off of a sold out tour and your fans want to know….who are you dating?"

He pitched his voice high to mimic the last annoying webstar interviewer that he dealt with. He shook his hand-mic insistently. A quick glance at the girl in the seat next to him saw she was still smiling.

"Well," she said sounding purposefully haughty, "Since my break up with Chris, you know Chris _Evans_ , I've been taking some time to just enjoy being single."

He chuckled. She was team Cap. Score another point for Bella.

"Turn here," she told him. It was a sleepy little street lined with sleepy little houses.

"Did he cheat, Bella? Did Chris cheat on you? Did you cheat on him?" he questioned, rapid fire. He knew he was close to her place but he wasn't ready to quit their little game yet.

Her laugh was so damn nice.

"Nope. We were both just so exhausted from the complicated circus fucking. When the straps connected to the chandelier broke, we decided we both needed a rest," she said without missing a beat. "Third house on the left."

Edward nearly choked on nothing. He was glad to stop the car because he needed a second to regroup. He turned to look at her and she reacted to the shock on his face.

"What?" she asked with an innocent shrug.

"Circus fucking?" he repeated, wide-eyed.

She nodded.

"Circus fucking," she agreed. "I would definitely do some acrobatic, entertaining, possibly clown-painted circus fucking with Chris Evans."

Edward opened his mouth and the closed it again. Then one more time. He had nothing.

"What?" she asked. "You don't like clowns?"

It took Edward a solid minute to stop laughing. The ridiculousness of the statement, the delivery, her sassy grin… Edward loved everything that was happening. His laughter tapered off when he saw her hand reach for the door handle.

"Thanks for the ride, _Rockstar_ ," she said.

"Hang on, do you like _need_ to be home? I mean you're home already but do you need to…" he gestured to the door because his words were failing him again. It was really strange. He routinely preformed in front of thousands of people, but talking to this girl had his tongue tied in knots.

Her smile dimmed a little and her face showed her confusion.

"Do you wanna just ride around a little more?" he asked. "I mean, if you don't have anything to do? Being in my parent's house is killing me and this has been fun. You're fun. You're funny. You're fun to talk to."

He could feel blush heating his cheeks for the first time since high school. What in the fuck? What was it about this girl?

"Sure," she said.

Edward heard a lot of girls agree to a lot of things over the years. Some of those things, they probably never should have agreed to. But none of that made him quite as nervous-excited as Bella's simple agreeance to take a ride.

**RS**

Surreal. That was the only word Bella could think of to describe what was going on. It was surreal that she was riding around in a swanky SUV with a Grammy winning rockstar. It was surreal that they drove around Forks talking for an hour and a half. It was surreal that they got on so amazingly that the conversation never lulled and was punctuated with gut busting laughter. And stupid was the only word to describe the fact that she had to bring the interlude to a close.

"So, as much as am I'm flattered that you've taken the time out of your busy schedule to spend time with a normal citizen such as myself, I need to get home," she explained regretfully.

"Huh… oh, yeah," he looked a little disappointed. That made Bella's heart race again. He recovered quickly and gave her a smart ass grin that affected other body parts. "You know, it's all part of the Edward Cullen outreach program. Just trying to let everyone know we're all the same."

Bella chuckled. Like most people she had some preconceived notions about entertainers. She thought most of them were dumb as rocks. Edward wasn't. He was witty. Nothing got Bella's motor running quite like quick wit.

"Really though, this was fun," she told him truthfully.

He looked over and smiled at her. It looked genuine. Bella melted.

"It was," he agreed.

They were both quite in the short moments it took to get Bella back home.

"Well thanks…" she began as she started to open the door.

"Hey, can I get…" he spoke at the same time.

They both chuckled nervously. Then he smirked.

"You gonna let me get your number, girl?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye and a playful nod of his head.

Bella laughed. She gave him a sassy hair flip.

"I don't know… I mean, I'm really waiting on Caleb Followill to roll into Forks looking for a date," she told him.

" _Come on_ ," he huffed playfully. "They haven't even released anything since 13."

Bella laughed and held out her hand for his phone. She saved her name and number for him. Then they both smiled stupidly as he tucked it back in his pocket.

"So, you can talk all the shit you want about it but I have no intention of waiting three days to hit you up," he told her as she climbed out of the car.

She tried to fight the grin but couldn't.

"Good," she replied.

 **A/N:** Much love to everyone who has followed, alerted, and commented. Makes my heart smile to see you guys enjoying my words.

Chapter Songs: Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd

Drive – Glades


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** As usual love to my fabulous Beta brwneyedgrl01. She pre-reads so you don't have to. Any lingering mistakes are mine and mine alone.

 _I'm bored. Let's go do something. Is there ANYTHING to do here?_

Bella rolled her eyes at the incoming text, but she couldn't help but smile. Bella was familiar with Edward Cullen lead singer of Midnight Sun Alter. The world was familiar with that guy. Bella was getting to know Edward. And Edward was part genius, part Romeo, and part teenage boy with ADHD.

 _Nope, us locals just sit around and whittle for fun._

After sending her reply she turned her attention back to her makeup. She didn't normally wear makeup to work, but she was feeling a little more peppy lately…a little more inclined to look cute. There was a small voice in the back of her head telling her exactly why that was, but she muffled that as quickly as possible.

 _Well if you need to get your hands on some wood… ;-)_

His message back made her laugh ring out and it made her cheeks heat. This kind of conversational flirting had been going on since their car ride. Three days to be exact. Three days where Bella had trouble paying attention in class. Three days of listening to nothing but Midnight Sun Alter on the way to school and work. Three days where she poured over pictures of the famous Edward Cullen at premieres and award shows and on videos of interviews...only to decide that she liked the snaps she saved better because they were only for her. Three days of being wrapped up in a man she had no business even knowing. It was surreal.

She pulled on her polo and tugged her hair into a ponytail. She wanted to get to work early so she could beat Mike there and pick the music for the night. Mike had already asked what the deal was with her sudden dedication to Midnight Sun Alter. She just shrugged. She wasn't telling anyone anything.

**WIB**

 _What criteria does Pandora use to determine similar artists? Similar chords? Similar beats? The same freaking letter used in the band name?_

Bella figured if anyone could respect her rant it would be Jasper. She laid her phone on the counter to await his reply. Her friend delivered shortly, as expected.

 _Complicated algorithm based on total breaths taken by the artist divided by number of daily pisses taken by artist's manager._

She couldn't help but laugh. She read it twice and laughed harder the second time.

"That is one of my favorite sounds," commented a velvet voice that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Bella felt her skin vibrate at the sound of his voice. Her blood ran warmer. She cursed herself just a little, and the command to _chill_ resounded in her brain. Luckily, the warm gray-green she thought she could drown in was hidden by shades. He also had his mop of auburn chaos hidden away under his black hoodie.

"So," she said with a smirk. "How did the B&E go?"

He gave a fake dramatic sigh.

"The old lady was home. I had to push her down to get to her prized spoon collection. But there's some rares in there. I think it'll get a pretty good price," he replied.

Bella giggled again.

"You're crazy," she told him.

He shrugged.

"It's your fault I've got to put this getup on," he said. "If you would have just blown this place off, I wouldn't have to worry about being spotted. We could be driving around bantering right now. You could be helping write my next hit song."

She rolled her eyes.

"Who exactly are you worried about seeing you?" she asked gesturing to the empty store. Even Mike was in the back of the photo lab doing some processing.

"All it takes is one tween with Twitter, Bella," he warned sardonically.

Bella smiled. Between the brutal hotness and the wit, she was actually glad the majority of their interactions were via phone or social media. Too much time face to face and she would have already thrown her vagina at him.

"So, you're seriously not going to blow this place off and come hang out with me?" he asked.

Bella shook her head.

"Sorry, Superstar, but some of us have bills to pay."

"Fine," he huffed. "But what are you doing Friday night?"

Bella pretended to think for a moment. Her exterior was cucumber cool but her heart had picked up its tempo in a big way.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I have a date," she began. She couldn't really judge his reaction due to his incognito getup, but she thought his lips being pressed into a tight line said a lot. "But I suppose that six pack at the liquor store won't be heartbroken if I postpone. Provided I have a good reason to."

His mouth curved back up into a now familiar smile.

"There's this party at my parent's place. My father is retiring," he said. Bella was pretty sure she detected a slight twist in his voice at the mention of his father. "I can't stand the idea of being there bored out of my mind the whole time. Come keep me company?"

Bella froze. Sure, she understood where the conversation was headed from the beginning but she had thought it would be more of a low-key dinner, possibly ending up in a hotel room kind of thing. The idea of her going to some kind of fancy party sent panic clawing up her throat.

"Uh.." she stuttered.

"What? What's the problem?" he sounded concerned.

"I don't know if that's really my scene," Bella said carefully.

"Retirement parties?" his brow wrinkled in confusion.

Through the entirety of their short relationship, Bella had ignored the vast differences between their lifestyles. Anytime little thoughts of the future and what if fluttered through her brain like tiny butterflies, she stamped them down. But this kind of thing would mix their lives in a very different way from Instagramming and Snapchatting.

"Famous, rich people parties," she replied.

"No one there is famous," he replied still confused.

She looked at him pointedly.

"Well...me…but you know me," he amended. "Other than that, it's just my family and a bunch of stuffy old doctors. And you don't even have to worry that shit, you'll be with me. Taking advantage of the open bar."

That did some work to quell Bella's fear, but the issue didn't dispel totally.

"I don't even have anything to wear to something like that," she told him.

"Wear that. I don't give a shit," he said. "That polo is hot."

Despite herself she giggled. It was stupid. It was a bad idea.

"What time?" she asked.

**WIB**

When the band had first started charting, Alice hired a public speaking coach after a couple of not-so-smooth interviews. Truthfully, the coach had been just for Edward. The rest of the guys seemed to do just fine, but Edward had a filter problem. If it was in his brain, it had a good chance of falling out of his mouth. It took months, but the coach finally instilled in him the tools to not make an ass of himself by telling reporters how good their legs would look over his shoulders. For years, the little problem didn't rear its ugly head unless he was fucked up. But when he was fucked up, his bandmates were usually around doing far more fucked up shit than going off at the mouth. It was funny how one small town, brown eyed girl shook that all up.

He didn't plan to invite Bella to his father's party, it just happened. He was just thinking that it would be better to listen to her laugh, than the festival of Carlisle Cullen ass kissing that would be going on at that party. And then suddenly, this girl...this amazing girl, would be accompanying him to what would likely turn into a total shit show. So, Edward did what he always did when he was about to fuck something up…he talked to Alice.

"Hey, Allie, can we take a walk?" he asked from the kitchen doorframe. Alice was sitting at the table with their mother looking at some interior design magazines.

His mother merely looked at him, but Alice rose with a sigh. It was a "what did you do now?" sigh. Edward had heard that sigh quite a few times.

Out the door, across the deck, Alice didn't say anything until they were near the wood line, walking in step.

"What'd you do?" she asked, quietly and directly.

"It's nothing bad, Alice," he said with a smile.

"I'll be the judge of that," she replied.

"So I've been talking to this girl," he said. Alice's brow wrinkled in concentration. She hadn't known exactly what to expect, but this hadn't even crossed her mind. Edward never told her about his girls. "And I kind of invited her to dad's party."

Alice's mouth dropped open in wonder and she stopped walking. She gaped at Edward for just a couple seconds longer than he was comfortable with. He reached out and flicked her tongue so she'd shut her damn mouth. She shook her head at him with an annoyed huff.

"Wait…a girl? Who? Do I know her? Actress? Singer?" she asked.

"No," Edward replied, purposely being obtuse.

Alice rolled her eyes.

"Who. Is. She?"

"Her name is Bella," he said moving along again, giving his sister no choice but to walk with him.

"Bella who? Not Bella Thone? Edward, you can't she's twelve," Alice said gripping his arm.

"Who? Alice, I don't even know who that is," he told her shaking his head. "She's not from home. She's from here."

"Here?" Alice's nose wrinkled. Her feelings toward Forks were quite similar to her brothers.

"She works at Wal-Greens," he said with a small smile. Edward was pretty sure his sister's head was going to explode.

"I don't understand this. You've been holed up in your room writing. You emailed everyone new lyrics," she said.

Edward smirked.

"I've been inspired," he said.

"Ok. So, you've met some girl from Forks, Washington. You'd like to bring her to our father's retirement party. Where there's sure to be at least one person with a Facebook or an Instagram or whatever. So, undoubtedly this girl will become media fodder before we even make it back home," Alice said.

"Yeah. That's pretty much it," he said with a sigh. The details were why Edward always turned to Alice.

"Edward, who is this girl?" Alice asked.

"Her name is Isabella Swan. Her dad is a cop here," he replied.

"How old is she?" Edward had heard this line of questioning before. This was Alice protecting her investment.

"She's twenty-one," he replied.

"Is she a blogger, Instagram model, vlogger, or any other kind of social media based vulture? Does she play with an unsigned band? Is she looking to get into acting?" Alice ticked off question after question.

"No, no, and no," he replied. "Alice, she's just a regular girl. Like really regular. Not LA regular. Like real job, bills, normal life regular."

"Ok, so you want to fuck up her nice normal life?" Alice asked.

Edward sighed heavily. He knew his sister was right. This was exactly why he talked to his sister.

"No, I don't want to do that," he said. "But I've already asked her."

Alice closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Ok, so cancel," she said quirking an eyebrow at him.

"But I don't want to cancel," he blurted out before he could think better of it.

"I see," Alice said. Her expression turned thoughtful. "You like her."

Edward shrugged.

"She's different," he replied.

Edward didn't have much more of an answer for his sister. As far as Bella was concerned, he'd just been going with it. He hadn't really examined his feelings. He had only known the girl a few days, but there was just something.

Alice watched her brother carefully as he puzzled through his thoughts. She knew her little brother better than anyone else walking the earth. This time, she was pretty sure she knew him better than he knew himself. Her brother was stumbling into some feelings for this girl.

"Edward, does she even have a dress?" she asked.

 **A/N:** Hugs and cupcakes for everyone reading, reviewing, likeing, following, or even just taking a little peek. You guys make doing what I love even more rewarding.

Chapter Songs: River – Oh, Be Clever

Still Wild – La Mar


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Happy Turkey day, if you celebrated. How about a chap to go with your leftovers?

 **Chapter 4**

"Oh good, you went with the green. I like that," Esme floated into the room. Edward smiled and inhaled deeply. The sweet smell of Chanel made his mother unmissable but never overpowering, which was a pretty good description of the woman herself. She stepped up behind him to brush her hand over the shoulders of his gray suit jacket. He could barely see her in the mirror he was using to tie his tie. "Are you ready for the festivities?"

Edward snorted a small laugh.

"I promise to be on my best behavior," he assured her.

"While I appreciate that, that's not what I asked. Alice says you have a date tonight," she said.

He turned to face his mother. She was looking at him expectantly, just as he figured.

"Alice has a big mouth," he replied and planted a big smacking kiss on her forehead. He then skirted around her to grab his cologne off the dresser.

"I see," she said knowingly. Edward didn't have to look to know she was smirking. "This should be interesting."

And with that parting shot, she went back the way she came. Edward chuckled. As much as he hated Forks and as much as he hated being in the same proximity as his father, it was worth it to be able to spend some time with his mother. While Edward loved L.A. he, wasn't fooled by it. L.A. was cold and calculating. It felt like the only person in the city who didn't see him as a means to an end was Alice. His mother's warmth helped him repair the shield he had to develop to live his life.

His phone alerted him that he had an incoming snap. It was a picture of the dress Bella planned to wear across her bed. For just a second his mind flickered over the thought of what she might look like laying across the lilac comforter, under the dress but he pushed that away pretty quickly. The dress was white and simple. He messaged her back that it would be perfect.

Most of his inner monologue about Bella sounded something like that. She would send a flirty text or snap, and Edward would ponder how nice it would be to strip her out of her Walgreen's polo and palm her perky tits. But instead of escalating things in a way that would lead to turning his thoughts into action, he would steer away from the fire. Because he liked talking to her. Because she was a sweet girl who didn't need a night with a dirty rock star. Because he was going back to LA in just a couple of days and he didn't want to leave her with a bad memory. Because he liked her.

He had to sit down at that last thought. Sure he liked her. _Of course_ he liked her. He wouldn't be spending time with her if he didn't. But it was becoming abundantly clear that was more than a casual, it was nice to meet you, kind of liking. However, from where Edward was sitting, on the edge of the guest bed in his parent's home in a town he loathed, there was very little he could do about his liking of Bella Swan.

With a sigh he pushed his worry away. He had to go get the girl. And then he had to focus on tolerating his father for one more night.

**WIB**

There was no limo service in Forks. That baffled Edward but then most things about Forks, like why people wanted to live there, baffled him. After growing up in Chicago and then moving to L.A., Edward didn't even know he was taking things like limos for granted. This trip to the twilight zone was teaching Edward plenty. He settled for driving the rental through a car wash and heading over to pick his date up all by himself.

To his continuing dismay, there was a police care in the driveway. The dad. It had been quite a few years since Edward had met someone's dad. For a moment he considered texting and honking the horn instead of going to the door. He sighed. Bella deserved better than that.

As he knocked on the front door, he could feel his palms starting to get clammy. Sold out arenas, TV appearances, and meetings with label heads didn't have shit on possibly meeting a girl's dad.

Charlie Swan looked exactly like Edward thought he would, annoyed and armed. Edward wasn't sure if he was coming on or off shift, but he was still in uniform. Complete with gun.

"Uh, hi," Edward said, faking his most charming smile. "I'm here for Bella."

The cop grunted. Then he turned and yelled Bella's name up the stairs.

"She'll be down in a minute," he told Edward. With that he turned and walked back over to plop down in an ancient recliner.

There was no indication that Edward was invited in, so he simply stood awkwardly in the doorway. Thousands of words in magazines and blogs about his commanding stage presence circled the drain as he fidgeted like a nervous teenager. But then movement on the stairs caught his eye and everything else slipped away.

It was like a slow motion scene in a teen romance flick. Edward's mouth literally dropped open and he stood stock still. She was gorgeous. The simple dress she had shown him fit her like a glove. It hugged her modest curves and the glowing white brought out the rose in her cheeks. Her hair was curled and flipped like a classic movie starlet.

"Wow," he breathed.

She smiled warmly at him as she closed the distance between them.

"Hey, _rockstar_ ," she said.

"You look amazing," he told her.

She gave him a sassy smirk.

"This old thing?" she asked with a hair flip.

Before he could even think a second thought, he reached out and brushed a finger down the soft skin of her cheek. He just had to touch her. It was electric.

Bella flushed.

"Be careful tonight," the gruff voice from the recliner shattered the moment.

Bella rolled her eyes. Edward smiled at her and shook his head.

"Shall we?" he asked offering his arm.

**WIB**

Having spent much of her growing up in Forks, Bella was familiar with the ins and outs of most of the town, but the neighborhood where Edward's parents lived was an area she'd never had reason to explore. The word neighborhood was kind of inaccurate. Bella lived in a neighborhood. The streets were lined with similar two stories and ranch styles all in need of a little repair. This _area_ was a loose grouping of _estates_.

The Cullen home was off of the street, tucked down a long driveway. It circled in front of the house and Bella was able to admire the perfectly groomed grounds and the grandness of the front door as Edward eased his rental up to park. There was a valet, a guy dressed in white shirt and black pants parking cars. Bella chewed on the inside of her mouth. She was so far out of her league. She didn't move a muscle as Edward climbed out and tossed his keys to the valet. When he opened the door, he noticed her hesitancy immediately.

"You ready?" he asked.

Bella looked over his shoulder as another couple entered the house. Even from where she was sitting she could see the sparkly rocks on the older lady's wrist. When Bella had found her mom's surprisingly simple old prom dress she had been excited. Vintage, she thought. She didn't have any special jewelry, aside from the tiny diamond studs her dad had bought her as a high school graduation gift. Her little jewelry box was filled with finds from the Claire's sales rack. She took her time with her hair and her makeup. Standing in front of her bathroom mirror, she thought she was doing ok. When she saw the look on Edward's face as she walked down the stairs she thought she was doing better than ok. Now all that faded. She was definitely not doing ok.

"I'm not so sure about this, Edward. It's really, really not my scene," she told him shaking her head.

"Hey," he said taking her hands in his. "What's the problem?"

"I've got on a twenty year old dress and these old broads wear jewelry more expensive than my house," she tried to explain. "I feel like they're gonna take one look at me and start yelling about 'kill the imposter' or some shit."

She could see his struggle, but he lost immediately and started laughing. As usual, his laughter was infectious. She felt a smile spread across her face without permission.

"Well, they tend to tuck their pitchforks into the coat closet, so I think you'll have enough time to make your get away before they purge you," he told her with a smirk.

"I have no problem ditching these shoes to run. The strap is broken anyway, I borrowed my dad's gorilla glue to fix it," she replied grinning back.

"You have nothing to worry about," he told her grinning. Then he reached one hand up and tilted her chin up to face him. "You are perfect."

Although his touch was warm and comforting, it still sent shivers down Bella's spine. Ragged nerves rounded into smooth edges as she looked up into mossy green eyes.

"Ok, let's go," she said.

She didn't let go of his hand as they walked up the steps.

**WIB**

Bella wanted to spend more time admiring the grand entry way and the open living room she could see but Edward obviously had other plans. He gracefully guided her through the house ignoring some curious and even shocked looks.

"I need a drink," he muttered in her ear as they walked.

"Dramatic scene unfolds as superstar gets hammered with old people," Bella cracked.

Instead of laughing, Edward sighed.

"Well -" he began but was cut off before he could tell Bella what she was suddenly awful curious to hear about.

"So this is Isabella," declared the stunning lady that was currently standing in doorway of the grand study where most of the party goers were mingling.

Bella's eyes widened. The lady in the black body-con dress was a couple of inches shorter than Bella, but she exuded power. So much so that Bella kind of wanted to hide in Edward's suit jacket.

"Bella," Edward said. "This is my sister Alice."

"Hi," Bella said softy sticking out her hand.

Alice looked amused.

"That's adorable," she said with a head shake. She gave Bella a soft, quick shake that felt pretty dismissive. One of Charlie Swan's favorite life lessons was about the hand shake. The hand shake was supposed to be frim enough to be assertive, to tell the other person you valued them as an equal. Bella's earlier worries started to creep back in.

Alice gave her one more quick, half-ass smile then turned her attention on her brother.

"He's already had a few. Mom tried to get him to wait, space them out, or whatever but he went on about how this is his party blah, blah, blah. You need to be cautious," she told him.

Bella felt her brow wrinkle. She was curious what the all the caution was about.

Edward sighed.

"Maybe we should just go," he said shaking his head.

"Go? You just got here," said another gorgeous lady as she approached. The Jane Seymore look-alike was wearing a gorgeous blue dress that made her copper hair shine. It was clear this was where Edward got his mane from.

Bella watched as Edward smiled despite himself and stooped to hug his mom.

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" she asked favoring Bella with a sparkling smile. She had the same kind of magnetism as her children. Bella couldn't help but smile back.

"Mom, this is Bella. Bella, this is my mom, Esme Cullen," he said.

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Cullen," Bella said holding out her hand. She could have sworn she saw Alice roll her eyes, but Esme's smile only grew as she took Bella's hand. Her shake was warm and just firm enough.

"Please, call me Esme, dear. Your dress is lovely," she told Bella, lightly touching the long sleeve.

Bella smiled.

"Thank you, it's vintage," she replied.

"Mom," Alice said, steering the conversation back. "I was just telling Edward that it may be best if he and Dad steer clear of each other tonight."

"I think the boys are perfectly capable of acting like grown-ups tonight. Right, Edward?" Esme said with a pointed look.

"Perfectly capable," he echoed with a nod.

"Wonderful," she replied reaching out to give his arm a squeeze. "Now, you kids have fun. I have to go check with the caterer to make sure more crostinis will be coming out. They're a hit."

With that, she headed off out of sight leaving an amused Edward, a huffy Alice, and an overwhelmed Bella. Alice shook her head and huffed another sigh.

"Stay away from him, Edward. Seriously. There's people here. Where there's people, there's press. Even in the woods," she warned her brother, then followed after her mother.

Neither Edward nor Bella spoke for a minute.

"So," he said, finally breaking through the discomfort. "That's my mom and sister."

Bella chuckled.

"They're nice," she said, nodding her head and giving him her most earnest expression.

Edward laughed.

"They're something," he said. "I really could use that drink."

He nodded toward the bar set up across the study.

"Me too," Bella said, blowing out a breath.

 **A/N:** Same story as usual, for the good stuff give the props to brwneyedgrl01. The mistakes belong to me because I don't comma well.

Hi, to all the new readers! Super big thanks to Midnight Cougar for the rec on The Lemonade Stand and for the pimping from SunflowerFran on Facebook. Thanks for having enough faith in my words to tell other folks about them.

If you're interested in the occasional pic, inspiration song, or sneak peek you're welcome to check out my little tumblr hole bnwritergirl dot tumblr dot com (take out the word dot and replace with a real dot).

Chapter Songs: The Way You Look Tonight – Elton John

Just Like Heaven – The Cure


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Little behind in posting but the powers that be actually granted me vacation. So I went. As quickly as possible.

The right side of Edward's body was unbelievably warm. He was pretty sure it was due to the girl next to him and not the third glass of the twenty-five year Highland Park scotch he was enjoying. He'd ordered the first glass of hella expensive scotch to spite his father….and his sister, truth be told. The first glass had been so smooth and delightful, he ordered another. The second one went down slower with enjoyable conversation. He told Bella about shows in London and Paris; she told him about Fork's lake. He told her about playing a USO show in Afghanistan; she told him about her crippling fear of public speaking.

As much as they had been in contact over social media, Edward had been worried they would run out of things to talk about. Or that, maybe, he had built up their interactions in his head and Bella wasn't as disarming and enjoyable as he had originally thought. He was wrong on both counts. The conversation flowed as easy as the scotch and Edward was enjoying her smile, the soft scent of her perfume, and the way she kept touching his thigh for emphasis when she talked.

"And, bam, Rose nails the guy in the head with a bag of fat marshmallows and yells "my name's not 'girl" you tubby fuck," Bella's palm clapped against his thigh softly when she said the word bam. She was grinning recounting the memory. "And that's why we're no longer allowed in the PA Walmart."

Edward chuckled. From what she had told him about her friends, he imagined they were a riot to be around. It was also clear how much Bella cared about them.

"Did you say anything about me to Rose?" he asked. He hadn't specifically told Bella not to mention him to her friends. Alice would kick his teeth down his throat if she knew that.

Bella shook her head and looked a little sheepish.

"Nah," she told him taking a small sip of wine. She'd been nursing the same drink since they sat down. Edward was pretty sure she was still feeling out of her element, despite his encouragement.

Her admission made Edward curious.

"She's not a blogger is she?" he asked. It was the most likely scenario he could think of.

Bella laughed.

"No. Rose hates writing. She's in school for accounting," she said. "I just…I kinda wanted to keep this to myself."

This time he _knew_ the wave of warmth he felt had nothing to do with the booze. He smiled at her.

"I get that," he replied.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment and Edward enjoyed the last sips of his drink.

"So, you leave tomorrow?" Bella asked.

He studied her expression. She looked inquisitive and interested. He didn't see any disappointment, which actually kind of disappointed him. He nodded.

"Yeah, I've got an eleven AM flight," he replied.

"Ready, to be back in a real city?"

"Unbelievably so," he said. Then he nudged her shoulder with his own. "But this hasn't been a complete bust."

That earned him a big, sparkly smile.

"Well isn't that a shame, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting all the attendants at my very own retirement party."

Edward felt his smile falter. He took a deep breath before he even looked up.

"Hello, Dad," he said. He tried to replace the smile that had fallen away with a fake one, but he was pretty sure he just looked pained.

"Hello, Son." Not many people would have heard the sarcastic lilt when Carlisle called him son but, Edward did. That word out of his father's mouth cut right through the music and the scotch to climb up Edward's spine. "Who's your friend?"

"This is my date, Bella," he said.

Carlisle didn't speak for a moment. He only drug his eyes up and down the pretty girl sitting in front of him. He was smirking. Edward's mouth involuntarily morphed into a sneer of distaste. He hated seeing his trademark smirk on his father. It disgusted him. Even worse, the smirk told something was coming. Edward's shoulders stiffened and his fingers curled tightly around the glass in his hand.

"Well, I know the scotch is expensive," Carlisle said nodding at Edward's drink. "How about the girl?"

As soon as the implication of the words set in, Edward saw red.

**WIB**

Bella knew no one would ever make a movie about her life, but if some screwy producer did decide to put the story of Bella on the screen she thought it would be something like Empire Records or some other nineties classic about nothing. Then Edward Cullen showed up on her doorstep, looking amazing in a suave gray suit, with his hair slicked back, and his eyes reflecting the emerald green of his shirt. Then, he whisked her away to some classy party filled with beautiful people. Suddenly, Bella felt like she was in some classic romance. Something in black in white, where a dashing leading man sweeps the sweet, young starlet off her feet and they live happily after.

Then again, that whole happy ending thing was pretty difficult to work in when the leading man had one foot out the door, on his way back home to magical, sparkly LA. It wasn't as if Bella could really blame him. He had a life there. He had things there. Bella couldn't really expect him to be sad that _she_ wasn't there. However, the rational side of her brain was having a little bit of trouble shutting down that little voice that kept whispering otherwise.

With all of this circling around in her head, it took Bella a moment to realize what Edward's father had said. Her first reaction was to kind of chuckle. Regardless of the insult, it was pretty damn witty. And it wasn't like she hadn't heard far more insulting shit from Rose and Jasper during poker night. However, her amusement quickly turned into distress when Edward was no longer on the couch, cozy at her side. He was suddenly on his feet. The glass he had been holding tumbled from his hand, breaking on the shiny hardwood.

"You son of a bitch," her dashing leading man growled through gritted teeth.

Bella's mouth dropped open into an "O" of surprised. Well, now the movie has its bad guy, she thought wildly. Carlisle was still smirking, as if he'd gotten exactly what he wanted, but his posture was prone as well. It appeared both men were completely ready to throw blows. Bella looked around worriedly. It seemed as if no one even noticed the two men ready to rip each other's heads off. Bella wasn't sure if the ruckus was really only loud in her ears, or if rich people were just really good at blocking out unpleasantness. Her eyes did land on one person who detected the disturbance in the force. Alice was making her way through the crowd, panic evident on her face. Bella was fairly certain she saw her mouth the words _mother fucker_.

Luckily, all of this clear-eyed observation only took a few seconds in real time. Bella bounced to her feet a lot quicker than she would have expected in strappy sandals. She reached out and grabbed Edward's forearm.

"Edward," she said. She wasn't really sure what to say next. Don't smash your dad in the face? "Don't."

The one word warning was enough to get him to turn his attention away from his father. When he turned his blazing eyes to her, she raised her free hand in a calm down motion. She felt him relax the most miniscule bit.

"Yeah, son, you wouldn't want to waste your money," said the damn fool, still trying to goad him on.

Edward's head whipped back to his father, and Bella could feel him straining toward the older man. She also turned to Carlisle. She was pretty certain she was wearing what J called her WTF look.

"You know, I think this one will be on the house tonight, considering the circumstances," she snapped. She watched him long enough to see the mix of surprise and intrigue cross his face. A quick glance at Alice, who had finally made it over, revealed a similar look, but she didn't really have time to revel in the sarcasm victory. She realized that getting Edward out of there, before shit got physical, was top priority. She turned her full attention back to him. "We should go."

She tugged at his arm to bring his focus from his dad, to her. It took a couple more tugs before she had his attention. When he finally focused on her, she gave him her biggest doe eyes.

"Please, Edward," she encouraged. "Please."

His mouth pressed into a hard line and he nodded. He gathered her in, resting his hand just above her hip, steering her toward the door.

"Congrats on the retirement, _dad,"_ he said, completely unable to refrain from one more little jab.

Bella's eyes darted to the older man. Luckily, he finally seemed willing to let it. Bella wasn't sure if it was because he had some semblance of fucking sense, or because of the furious look on Alice's face. Whatever it was, he merely waved his glass in a toast to his exiting son. His smirk was back and that kind of made Bella want to punch him. Instead, she gave him her most withering eye-roll. As she and Edward passed the bar, he stopped and leaned over.

"The Highland Park, please," he told the young, blonde bartender who was still star struck by his presence. She grabbed a bottle and a glass, but he stopped her. "Just the bottle, sweetheart."

Bella couldn't hold in a snicker, as the girl did as he said. And be damned if him taking a slug from the bottle and smirking wasn't one of the sexiest things Bella had ever seen.

"I guess I'm driving," Bella said with a chuckle as they walked out.

"If you'd be a peach and do that, I'd greatly appreciate it," he said smiling at her.

She grinned. His infectious smile drained away the adrenaline from the tense situation. While they waited for the valet to bring the car around, Edward sipped his scotch.

"So, what should we do with the rest of our evening?" he asked. "Clearly, this whole _nice family celebration_ didn't work out. Know any happening hot spots? Underground raves?"

Bella laughed.

"Not so much," she replied. "But I know a spot where we could chill."

While they recognized that their lakeside spot _would be_ a legit spot to get some lovin', Bella and her friends had agreed not to sully the integrity of their spot. Also, no one wanted to accidentally happen upon their friend mid-hump. Mindful of that, they had scouted out another spot they could bring someone. Not as perfect as their spot, but a place to get the job done.

"Scotch and chill?" Edward asked with an amused look.

Bella gave him a wink. Edward smiled and shook his head at her. He looked like he was about to say something else, but the sleek SUV pulled up. Bella grabbed the keys.

"I'm pretty sure this car costs about as much as my house," she told him, getting comfortable in the driver's seat.

"I can't wait to drop this fucker off and get back to my baby," he said taking another long drink. "She's a 1966 Mustang. Classic red. Perfect condition. You ever taken a long drive with the top down?"

Bella smiled ruefully.

"Can't say I have," she replied. In truth, she'd never even been in a convertible.

"Is there even any point in having a convertible around here? I mean, do you guys even have sun here?" To Bella, it sounded like his frustration was boiling up. She glanced over and found him looking out the window, sipping the Scotch again. "I mean, why the fuck does anyone _choose_ to live here?"

Bella didn't reply to his rant. She understood it didn't really _need_ a reply. He was just venting. But she understood something else too; his rant was pretty indicative of how he felt. His absolute aversion to her hometown put quite the damper on the crazy little fantasies she'd occasionally been allowing herself to indulge in. In those fantasies, gorgeous superstar Edward Cullen frequented sleepy little Forks, more specifically Bella's bedroom. Logically, she had known all along there was really no way for them to be a _thing_. But his words hammered the nails in the coffin.

"Fuck this place," he continued. "And fuck my father. Self-righteous bastard. Fuck him for being rude to you. You didn't deserve that. You're probably the best fucking thing in this shit-hole town."

It was like a rollercoaster for Bella. Up and down. It was scary how much his words were effecting her. She swallowed hard as she eased the SUV onto darker, more densely wooded roads.

"I won't do this shit again. I won't come all the way the fuck out here, to the middle of nowhere, just so he can put the fucking screws to me. I won't fucking do it."

Bella looked again and this time he was looking back at her. He was shaking his head and the sadness she saw stamped on his features broke her heart even more than his words.

"I can't," he murmured.

She adjusted to drive with one hand and reached the other to lay on top of his. Regardless of the situation, she felt electricity when skin touched skin. She wasn't sure if he felt the same thing, but he immediately looked down. He turned his hand over and linked his fingers through hers.

"Like you wanted to hear all this bullshit," he said, his tone changing. He sounded more like his usual playful self, but he wasn't full strength. He sounded a little tired and just a touch blurry.

"I don't mind," she told him with a shrug.

Pavement gave way to gravel, causing Edward to look curiously out the windows.

"Bella," he said, his smirk finally appearing again. "Are you taking me to your make-out spot?"

Just hearing those words out of his mouth gave Bella flashes of naughty scenes. She wondered how hard it would be to get out of her dress.

"That depends," she told him as they finally reached their destination. The moon was high and clear. "If you're down to make out, then this is definitely my make-out spot. If not, it's just a spot."

He glanced to the backseat.

"I'm so down," he told her grinning.

Bella answered only with a grin of her own before throwing open the driver door and scrambling to the back. She felt like a teenager about to get some touch for the first time. Her heart was beating madly and she couldn't wipe the grin off her face. There was a weak protest from somewhere deep down that encouraged her to think about things rationally; having sex with him would only make it hurt so much worse when he went back to LA forever and ever. However, her vag had the final say, and as soon as they both closed the doors to the back, she climbed astride his lap immediately.

Looking down at his face made her breath catch in her throat. Edward Cullen was truly something to behold. His green eyes were smoldering, and a glance at his full mouth made Bella lick her lips in anticipation. Then his hands, that had been resting on the tops of her thighs, were in her hair and he was pulling her mouth to his. The shock that she felt when their hands touched turned into a current. She couldn't hold back a moan as his tongue swept into her mouth. Her hands came up to rest on his chest. They kissed hungrily. Lips, teeth, and tongues clashing and caressing. He tasted like good Scotch and better man. They were both out of breath when he pulled away.

"You are so fucking amazing," he told her, holding her face in his hands.

Her heart pounded. Her resolve to get him out of his clothes wavered. Perhaps it wouldn't be worth the pain. But that line of thought dissolved when his lips hit her throat.

He trailed up to the shell of her ear, his hot mouth sending shivers up her spine. Then back down her neck, down to nibble on her collar bone. Bella rocked her hips against him, trying to get some relief from the ache that was building between her legs. The motion caused them both to groan. Edward laid his head back against the seat and let out a breath. Clearly he was trying to take a moment to slow down, but Bella was having nothing of it. She took that as her opportunity to explore. She started at his neck, tasting the skin there and inhaling his scent. While she kissed, she unbuttoned his shirt. When she nipped just a little, she heard him groan. She'd never been more close to getting off from a sound in her entire life. His hands roamed restlessly over her back as she kissed lower, sliding back on his knees to put her mouth on the skin she revealed when she pushed his shirt away. She glanced up for just a second. The sight of him with his head back and his jaw working made her feel powerful.

She took her time exploring his broad chest with her mouth and her fingertips. He seemed inclined to let her explore, his hands dropping away to grip the leather seat. Down lower, slowly covering the real estate of sculpted abs. She wished she had him spread out on a bed where she could really appreciate all the hours he must have spent at the gym.

When she neared the button of his pants, she realized two things. First, she was bent in the most god awful awkward position. She didn't even know she was that bendy. Second, he seemed awful relaxed for someone with a potential sex partner nearing the holy land. She looked up curiously. Then she cursed.

He was passed the fuck out.

"Edward," she said softly.

No reply. She tried again a little louder. She reached and patted his cheek softly. Still nothing. She sighed. She dismounted and sat next to him on the seat shaking her head. While her vag was so sad she could almost hear it crying, Bella only huffed a small incredulous breath. But she couldn't help but smile. He looked so handsome and boyish in his sleep. Plus, she _did_ make out with Edward Cullen.

She sighed and climbed out of the car. She grabbed her bag from the front and fished out her phone. She tapped the screen and after two rings, Rose picked up.

"I thought you had some mysterious _thing_ you had to do tonight," Rose greeted her. In the background she heard Jasper yell 'hey Bella'.

"Yeah, about that," Bella answered. "You guys are at the lake?"

"Yup."

"Well, so am I. But at the other spot. And… I kind of need a ride," she told her friend. She glanced back at the Edward. As she suspected, he was still out cold. And speaking of cold. "And a hoodie."

"Very interesting," Rose said. "I'll bring J's horse blanket." From near-by, Bella heard Jasper protest that ' _it's a poncho'._

"That's fair. Horse blanket of shame is fair," she agreed.

After getting off the line with Rose, she climbed back in the car. Although she was pretty certain nothing short of a train running the car over would wake him she, move quietly and gently. She couldn't resist one more touch and one more kiss. She gently ran her fingers over his hair and pressed a soft kiss on his lips then climbed back out to wait for her ride. No more than five minutes later, Rose's Corolla pulled up. When Bella climbed in the car, Rose took in her ensemble, then crossed her arms. Her look told Bella that she had a lot of talking to do.

"So, there's been some crazy shit going on…" she began with a shrug.

 **A/N:** My story remains the same, brwneyedgrl01 makes this not suck, give her all the love. Welcome to everyone popping in. If I missed replying to your review my apologies, I haven't got my head right since I've gotten off that freaking boat. Feels like my office is in the middle of the ocean.

Chapter Songs: Tomorrow – Echoes (If you listen to no other song I suggest give this one a go. Such a lovely tune.)

Mudshovel - Staind


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Man, I love seeing what you guys have to say about my peeps. Thus far, we've established Carlisle is an asshole and y'all are sweethearts for worrying about a drunk boy left in the woods. Shall we proceed?

 **Chapter 5**

Edward looked at his phone for probably the tenth time in an hour. He scanned his text, Snapchat, Instagram, even his e-mail. Plenty from fans, a few from friends, and a couple of messages from Alice, chock full of her current plan for his life. But in all that digital chaos, there wasn't a single word from the one person he was hoping to hear from. No Bella in all the noise.

It had been a week of silence from her. Sure he could contact her… Hell, he probably _should_ be the one to reach out first. He was the dipshit that drew her into all of his family drama, then got shit-housed and passed out on her. When he awoke in the backseat of the rental, he wasn't sure what was worse, the epic hangover or the toxic mix of shame and regret. Shame, for putting such an amazing girl into such a bad situation; he didn't even know how she left, for fuck's sake. The regret was about what could have happened…what should have happened in that backseat. He should have been able to keep his fucking eyes open, and paid her back for her patience and kindness in orgasms. He thought about dragging his sorry ass over to her house immediately to apologize, but he didn't have much time before his flight. He just thanked God that she was nice enough to leave his keys in lap and not toss them into the lake. He knew plenty of girls who wouldn't have been so kind. Once he was back home, it was like he got caught up in the LA whirlwind. The timeline for the show he had agreed to be on had been accelerated. That meant filming promos two weeks earlier than expected.

Sharp, pinching pain brought him out of his thoughts. He reached up a hand and stopped the makeup girl, who was thoroughly grooming his eyebrows.

"Sweetheart, if you could leave the skin, I would greatly appreciate it," he told her.

"Oh my God, Mr. Cullen, I'm so sorry," she gasped. The hand he was still holding shook just a little. The poor girl could barely hold her evil, skin pinching tweezers.

"It's cool, just figure I'd look better on screen without the gaping head wound," he joked with a smirk.

"I'm so sorry," the trembling girl repeated.

Her eyes were filling with tears. Apparently, she thought Edward was going to have some sort of celebrity tantrum. To her, he was just another celebrity, who was probably a dick. He sighed.

"Let's take a break, ok?" He requested, using his most calming voice.

She nodded quickly and hurried off. Edward stuffed his phone in his pocket and stretched his long legs out of his chair. He wandered past craft service and out to the parking lot. Outside it was another gorgeous LA day, gorgeous sunny skies and a nice cool breeze. It was the kind of day that made him want to get in the car and drive; just get on Pacific Coast Highway and go. If it weren't for Alice's insistence that this was the next step in his career, ( _"You'll be the next Adam")_ he'd do just that. Blow this shit off and just drive…but then, the drive wouldn't be quite so great this time. He'd just be thinking about driving around that sleepy little town in Washington.

It was funny that Edward had felt so damn fulfilled before his trip to Forks. Despite Alec's pesky bouts of _exhaustion,_ the band was doing well. The last tour had been their most successful yet. Last year he'd found the perfect house; enough windows that the place was constantly flooded with sunlight, a pool, a hot tub, and about a hundred other perfect little pieces. Investments in a couple of bars in the city were paying off. There were a couple of ladies he could count on to be at his side for events, or in bed if he asked. Everything was perfect. Now, there was a hollow place. In just a few days, Bella carved out a spot inside him, with her laugh and her smart mouth and her calming brown eyes. That played a number on his nerves. Even more unnerving, was the thought that maybe all of this was one sided. Maybe she didn't feel the same kind of connection that he did. Maybe she was just interested in getting with someone famous. Maybe she didn't call, not because she was waiting on him, but just because she didn't want to.

**WIB**

"So, man, I wanted to ask you a favor," Garrett told Edward, setting his beer down on the patio table.

When his bandmate had called him to come over for dinner, Edward had been grateful for the distraction. After he finished up at the studio, he headed home, with nothing else on the agenda for the day. Typically, he'd spend his down time watching movies or TV shows he'd missed while touring, but he hadn't been able to concentrate.

"You're not borrowing my car, Gar," he told his friend with a smirk.

Garrett chuckled.

"Nah, not that," he assured. "Actually, I wanted to ask you to stand in my wedding. Best man, in fact."

Edward was pleasantly taken aback. Garrett had been dating a fitness model named Bree, for a couple of years now, but Edward hadn't realized they were that intense.

"Wow, really?" he asked taking a sip of his beer.

"Yep," Garrett said with a nod and rueful smile. "Bree says it's time to shit or get off the pot."

"Classy," Edward said laughing. Bree wasn't one to mince words. "So marriage is shitting?"

"Metaphorically, it would seem so," Garrett agreed.

Edward's laughter subsided into a smile and he nodded at his friend.

"Of course I'll do it man, just let me know the details," he said.

"As soon as I know, you'll know," Garrett replied.

"So you're ready to make the commitment to just one chick?" Edward asked teasingly.

Garrett shrugged.

"How hard can it be?"

"Pretty hard for some guys," Edward said.

Memories of his father's indefinitely circled around in his mind. Why would anyone bother getting married if they'd just be looking for someone to bang on the side a couple of years down the road? It was this school of thought that had led Edward to keep all of his relationships ranging from super casual to non-existent. But, perhaps that wasn't the only road. Surely not every relationship devolved into cheating, or divorcing, or offing the significant other for insurance money. They sat in silence for a couple of moments, both men sipping their drinking and thinking their thoughts. Edward's brow was wrinkled when he spoke, as if he were considering a puzzle.

"So, what made you decide to do it?" Edward asked curiously.

Garrett shrugged and gave him a half-smile.

"I don't know. I guess I always kind of knew. It wasn't any one thing. It's just that, I feel like if I'm not playing, I'd just rather be with her. Like if, I eat something good, or see something cool, I just want to tell her about it. Or better, have her with me eating or seeing or whatever," he explained.

The look of concentration didn't leave Edward's face, but he nodded in understanding. Garrett quirked his head to the side curiously.

"You got something on your mind, homie?" he asked.

"Huh?" Edward asked. Then he shook his head, as if to clear it. "Nah, I'm cool. But I think I'm gonna run. I need to go make a call."

**WIB**

"If you tap that thing one more time, I'm going to break it in half and stab you in the jugular with it," Rose said suddenly.

Bella's eyes widened, and the pen she'd been tapping on her book, tumbled out of her hand. She sighed and laid her forehead on the open book. Maybe she could get her studying done by osmosis, because she sure as fuck wasn't reading.

"I may be a little distracted," she said without lifting her head.

"No shit," Rose agreed. "Still nothing?"

Rose knew exactly what was distracting her friend.

"Nothing," Bella affirmed.

"Man, fuck him. He's no Adam Levine. Now that's hot. Edward Cullen is like a half-ass Adam. Fuck that, he's only a quarter ass Adam," Rose said.

To say that Rose had been shocked, when Bella told her about the Edward Cullen interlude, would have been an understatement. Rose flat out didn't believe her. She made Bella repeat the whole story when they reached Jasper, so that he could use extensive psych study, to determine what parts she was lying about. Finally, Bella broke out the big guns and showed them some saved snaps. There was a bit of shock and awe, followed by a good deal of cursing and insults, for keeping this explosive of a secret. Bella also had to convince Jasper that going back across the way, to sharpie a big, luscious mustache on Edward's perfect face, would be pointless, as she had locked the car and left the keys in his lap. Jasper still hadn't gotten over that part.

Bella turned her head to the side so she could see her friend.

"Thanks, Rosie," she said softly.

Rose smiled, reached a hand out to give Bella a squeeze, and went back to her own studying. It was raining too hard to head to the lake, so the girls had decided to hold up in Bella's room buckling, down on school work. They were both closing in on the end of their respective programs, and focusing on school was a must.

Bella shook her head as she looked at her book. She had to let the whole Edward thing go. That was just a few days living in a daydream. This was her real life. Finals were real life. Finishing up her degree and pursuing her field in social work was real life. Fighting with her dad about her career choice was real life. Edward Cullen was not her real life.

Not that there was really any other option. There'd been nothing but silence from Edward. She assumed he had went back to LA by now, but she wasn't sure. Not that she could blame him for wanting to escape immediately after the nasty scene with his father, but she thought he would at least say good-bye. She thought she would merit at least a text or a snap or something, but there hadn't been a word.

Sure, she could have hit him up. In fact, she had pondered starting that particular conversation multiple times. _'Hey, what a fucked up night with your crazy dad and the not getting laid, how's the weather?' 'So, you passed out on me before I could lick you like a lollipop, that sucks.'_ Yeah, that's exactly the kind of conversation she wanted to have with a world famous rock star.

The more she thought about it, the more she had to admit letting the whole thing go, was for the best. Their lives were vastly different. Way beyond cat fan versus dog fan different. More along the lines of, lives that could never merge together. Bella couldn't leave Fork's even if she wanted to. It was in her bones. Surely, Edward had sensed that. He understood that while their time together had been entertaining, it was ridiculous to think that it could be anything more.

Regardless of how ridiculous the whole thing was, there was a small part of her that really wanted to pick up the phone and call him. It was because of the way his eyes sparkled when he was spitting back a witty retort. It was because of the way her body heated up to feverish, every time he touched her, even when the touches were completely innocent. It was because, every time she hit the power button on her battery operated boyfriend, it was his beautiful face she saw in her mind's eye. It was because, when Bella was talking to Edward, or when she was around him, she wasn't thinking about school or work or her dad or her mom. In fact, when she was with Edward, Bella hadn't been thinking much at all. She just acted. She just felt. Felt too much, it would seem.

Bella sighed.

"Ok," Rose said shaking her head. "More ice cream therapy."

Bella couldn't help but smile as her friend shut her book. Despite Rose's tough exterior, she really was warm and fluffy on the inside. She was more than willing to help Bella drown her feelings in Amaretto Cherry Swirl.

"I bought another can of Reddi-Whip," Bella said.

Rose shook her head again, but smiled despite herself. As they made their way down the stairs, Bella realized she had left her phone laying on the bed.

"Gotta grab my phone," she said turning back.

In one of life's more serendipitous turns, her ring tone sounded out just as she stepped back in the room.

"Well, Hell," she cursed softly when she saw the name on the caller ID.

Edward.

 **A/N:** More thanks to brwneyedgrl101 for telling me where to put the commas 'cause CLEARLY I'll never learn.

Thanks to every one commenting, I love hearing your thoughts on the what's and why's. And thanks for all the favs and follows too.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Bella noticed her hand was shaking, just a little, as she picked up the phone. She had to roll her eyes at herself.

"Hello," she answered, making sure to sound casual, not like he had been the only thing on her mind for the past week.

"Hey, Bella," he replied. His voice was warm, rich honey and just the sound of it put a little shiver down the middle of her back. It wasn't fair.

It was clear that neither of them really knew where to go from "hello" as the line went quiet. Huge, awkward silence. They both began at the same time.

"I..." He started.

"So..." She tried. Bella hadn't really planned what she was going to say. It probably would have been something ridiculous. "You go."

"So," he began again, letting out a breath. Was it a nervous breath? An annoyed breath of a guy who knew he needed to cut a girl off the hook? "After I foolishly passed out on you, there was this freak, wild cow stampede at your spot. The car was destroyed and I took several hooves to the face. This past week has been nothing but reconstructive surgery and trying to convince the insurance company that cows are not the dumb, docile creatures they appear to be. They're a fucking danger to our society."

Bella blinked. That wasn't what she expected.

"Mad cow?" She asked, shaking her head.

"Very mad," he replied. She could have been fooling herself, but she could swear she could hear just a hint of nervousness in his voice.

She laughed. She couldn't help it.

"Not buying it?" He asked.

"Not so much," she said.

"I was considering a flock of rabid pigeons," he told her. He sounded nearly as amused as she was.

She snorted another laugh.

"I may have bought the pigeons," she said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, they're nasty fuckers. Rats with wings and all," she said. It was amazing and scary how easy it was talking to him.

"Bella, I'm sorry," he said suddenly. This time she was positive that was nervousness.

"Ok," she said. Now she was nervous too. She was sure this was going to be the part where he told her all the reasons they shouldn't be...whatever it was there were.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into my family's bullshit, I'm sorry I turned into a lush and passed out on you, I'm really fucking sorry I didn't strip you out of that dress and make all the other bullshit up to you and I'm most sorry that I didn't call sooner," he listed off breathlessly.

Bella took a minute to gather her thoughts. This certainly didn't sound like the "cutting loose" talk she had been expecting. This sounded more like a "I still want to talk to you and perhaps get in your pants" kind of talk.

"So, what does this mean exactly?" she asked, boldly. At least it felt pretty bold for her.

"It means I want to slide in your DMs?" He quipped.

Bella laughed again.

"Honestly, I don't know what it _means_. I just miss talking to you, and I hoped you'd be amenable to talking to me again," he said softly.

Bella's heart began to pound. Before she picked up that phone, she knew she missed him, but she hadn't really examined what she _wanted_ from him. Now, she thought maybe she didn't have to figure it all out just yet, and maybe just talking again would be pretty awesome.

"And I didn't get to see your boobs, because I'm a jackass, and I'd really like to see your boobs," he added before she could speak again, because he simply couldn't control his mouth.

"They're pretty great boobs, if I do say so myself," she said with a smirk.

"I bet," he agreed. "So, you'll snap me? Text me? Instagram? Whatever?"

"Yeah, I think I can do that," she said. Already she couldn't stop smiling.

"Good, because I have every intention of being all over your social media. Liking every picture, texting all the time, calling even. Probably borderline stalker behavior," he said. Happily enough, she could hear the smile in his words.

Motion at her bedroom door caught her attention. Rose was looking on curiously. She mouthed words about being down in a minute. Rose nodded with an arched eyebrow. She would need to explain when she got down there.

"Just don't call the house phone and hang up. My dad will track you down and shoot you. He hates that shit," she said.

"Wait, you have a _house phone_?" he sounded shocked.

"They do still exist," she replied. "Hey, Rose is waiting on me so I kinda need to go. Talk later?"

"Of course," he agreed.

"Bye, Edward," she said. It felt good to say his name and not surround it with curse words.

"Bye, Bella," he said and disconnected the call.

She sat for a moment just holding her phone, staring at it. She was nervous and excited, and to be honest, just a little horny from the boob talk. Clearly, it didn't take much. She took a deep breath to center herself and headed down the stairs.

When she reached the kitchen, Rose was sitting at the table with a bowl of ice cream in front of her. One for Bella sat opposite. Bella sat down and shoved her mouth full of her treat. She needed a minute to get the words together that Rose was going to demand.

"So..." Rose said.

Bella took her time finishing her bite. Rose watched her as she finished, with a look of exaggerated patience on her face.

"So, that was Edward," Bella said.

"No shit," Rose scoffed. "What did he have to say for himself?"

"He's a jackass and he's sorry," Bella said.

"Do we accept his apology?"

"We do," Bella confirmed, nodding her head.

Rose mirrored her nod then grew quiet. When she spoke again, her eyes were kind, but full of concern.

"What are you doing here, B?" she asked her friend.

Bella stirred her melting ice cream, tapping the spoon against the sided of the bowl. She stared at the dessert like it had the answers to all the questions currently pertinent to her life. She heaved a huge sigh then looked at Rose and shrugged.

"I have no idea," she said.

"I just don't know if I see this ending anyway that isn't bad," Rose told her, her voice soft but urgent. "Do you really want to end up some rock guy's girlfriend? You haven't been to a city bigger than PA in all the years I've known you. You've never seemed to have any urge to. Am I wrong?"

Bella shook her head. Rose was right. Big cities filled with people weren't her thing.

"And what if this is just some time-killing fling for him, and you end up in love? Then, I have to go cut his balls off, and I end up and jail. You _know_ orange washes me out," Rose was kidding, but she wasn't either. She really was worried...and she probably would cut his balls off.

"You do look terrible in orange," Bella agreed. It was a moment before she spoke again, her eyes were on her bowl as she talked. "I don't know what I'm doing, but here's what I do know. I know I can't think straight when I'm around him, and I know that there's this insane attraction between the two of us. I know he and I don't make any fucking sense."

She stopped for a moment and peeked up at her friend. There was no judgment there, only warmth.

"I'm in too deep already, Rose," she said.

Rose nodded. She already knew that.

"Ok," Rose said.

"Ok?" Bella asked. She knew she needed her friend to support her, since she was probably making one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

"I look fabulous in anything," Rose said with a smirk.

**WIB**

 _Give me ten minutes_

Edward couldn't fight the grin that was taking over his face as soon as he hit send. Ten minutes until he reached his favorite part of the day. Over the past month, he and Bella had fallen into some pretty terrific routines. Good morning texts, 'what I see _right_ now' pictures, and Edward's favorite, late night facetime. L.A. was chock full of beautiful people, they were pretty much the foundation of the city, but there wasn't a face there that compared to sleepy eyed, smiling Bella. Plus, those conversations had a way of slip-sliding from flirty banter into full on dirty talk. He wasn't ashamed to admit that seeing her flushed cheeks and listening to her breathing hitch occasionally when he said something nasty led him to take another shower after he hung up the phone.

Along with excited, Edward felt pretty lucky. He hadn't expected Bella to give him another chance after their disastrous "first date". Then, after benevolently granting a second chance, Bella hadn't pushed to "define the relationship", like most girls jumped to do. She wasn't asking for a label, and she wasn't making demands on his time. That actually made him want to give her more of his time. He had joked about stalking her, but sometimes it almost felt like he was. It was even hard to concentrate on filming because his hand constantly itched to grab his phone and see if she had sent him anything. If he really sat down and pondered about the whole thing, it would probably freak him the fuck out. So, he didn't ponder, he just went with it.

He stripped off the clothes he'd worn that day, jacket, button-down, and tie for filming, and climbed in the shower. As the hot water beat tension out of his neck and shoulders, his eyes landed on the heavy glass shower door. In his mind's eye, he could see Bella dripping wet with her hands braced against that door. He shook the thought away, due to time restraint, but not before had got a pretty decent semi going. Just the thought of this girl was enough to get his motor going. It had to be witchcraft.

Out of the shower, he pulled on comfy cotton pajama bottoms and dropped into his bed. He grabbed his Ipad, propped it up in its stand, and hit the button for facetime. A moment later, he saw his favorite face. She was laying on her back in bed. From the angle she was holding her phone, he could see her pjs, a tank top, and little plaid shorts. It was quite the view.

"Hello, beautiful," he said warmly.

"Hey," she relied. There was a furrow in her brow.

"What's up, you?" He asked.

"So, Jasper just sent me this link to this gossip website. My picture is on it," she told him. After she finished her statement, her lower lip slipped between her teeth. Her tell-tale worried sign.

"Wait, what?" he asked. In the first couple of weeks after his trip to Forks, Edward had tried to be vigilant about watching the rags, but that hadn't been any mention of his little adventure or Bella.

"I'll send you the link," she said.

His phone chimed immediately. He opened it up, and sure enough buried in a post entitled _The Crap We Missed_ on The Superficial was a lowlight, phone picture of the two of them, facing off with his father. While finding any picture at all on the site wasn't ideal, Edward didn't think it was a catastrophe. The shot was in profile, and Edward was between the camera and Bella, and her hair obscured most of her face.

" _Mystery man, Edward Cullen, attends mystery charity event, has intense conversation with mystery foe, while escorting a mystery woman. Mysterious_ ," Edward read aloud.

Bella sighed.

"Not cool," she said.

Of course, she was right. It wasn't cool for her to be dragged into the spotlight when she clearly didn't want to be. Even if the spotlight was more of a dangling single bulb in a basement.

"Do you want me to get Alice on it?" he asked. Edward's relationship with the press had always been fairly amicable. He went out, they photographed him. He tried not to do stupid shit in public.

"I don't know," she said. He hated seeing the worry etched on her face. "I mean, won't they make a bigger deal out of it if you try to pull it?"

Edward considered. She was right again. He nodded.

"Yeah, they probably will. I mean this is pretty well buried, so I don't think TMZ will be hunting you down any time soon," he told her.

Again, with the lip gnawing.

"This freaks me out," she said.

He wished he was there. He'd free that lip and kiss it.

"I wish I was there," he said.

Words in his head came right out of his mouth. Classic Edward. However, his words seemed to work this time, as his girl stopped worrying her lip and give him a small smile.

"Yeah, how would you fix this if you were here, Superman?" se asked. Most of the worry was gone from her voice.

"Well, first I'd turn your phone off, so you didn't have to see anymore low rent gossip vultures trying to figure out who Edward Cullen's beautiful mystery woman is," he told her, smirking his trademark smirk.

"They didn't call me beautiful," she interjected, with an arched eyebrow.

"No, I did that," he agreed. "Then, I'd help you out of that tank top and those adorable little shorts, and I'd give you the most epic massage to help erase any tension those nasty scandal mongers had caused you."

Now she was grinning, and he didn't miss the way she took in a deep breath before she spoke again.

"That would be nice," she said. "Too bad you're there and I'm here."

It was Edward's turn to sigh, but then inspiration struck. He wasn't sure if she would go for it, but there was that saying about fortune favoring the bold.

"So, how about a stand in?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" se returned, curiously.

"I mean, you have a battery-operated friend that usually helps you ease tension, don't you?"

The blush that flooded her cheeks was gorgeous. Even if she threw the breaks, that would be pay off enough.

"I do," she murmured.

Edward didn't even realize he'd been holding his breath. Hearing those words made him let it out in a rush. He swallowed hard and internally demanded that he be cool.

"Why don't you grab it?" He suggested.

She licked her lips nervously. Edward was struggling to breathe evenly. Although he was no Gene Simmons, Edward had participated in quite a lot of sexcapades. Not a one of them was quite as erotic as this.

"Ok," she said softly.

He watched as she shifted around and he heard, what he assumed to be, a drawer opening off screen. When she settled again, she looked at him nervously.

"Now what?" she asked.

Her tone was equal parts nervous and excited. Edward's semi from earlier had returned and was making its way to a fully.

"What makes you feel good, beautiful?" He asked.

Bella shrugged. She looked like she was a mess of nerves... but still excited.

"Does touching your nipples feel good, baby? Do you like to pinch them, just a little, to get them hard?" he asked.

He hoped he wasn't going too far. Bella nodding and he felt like fist pumping.

"Then do that," he said. "Make those pretty little nipples nice and hard for me. I want you to pretend I'm there with you, and it's my fingers teasing you."

She kept the phone angled just right, so that he could see her hand easing under her tank. He could see her nipples were already hard.

"Why don't you take that top off?" he suggested. He wanted to see her bare so bad, it hurt. He reached one hand down and palmed his dick through his pants.

She swallowed hard, and then he saw nothing but ceiling as the phone dropped beside her. When she picked it up again, he feasted his eyes on gorgeous bare breasts, illuminated in soft lamp light. His mouth went dry at the sight of soft skin topped with rosy, hard peaks.

"You're so fucking gorgeous," he groaned. His hand went back to his dick. "Now, can you touch them for me baby? Show me what you like?"

One hand drifted up to twist and tug at one nipple, then floated across to tease the other. She let out a soft little whimper that killed him. His dick throbbed. He didn't know if he would live through this.

"That's amazing, baby. You're amazing," he said. "Now, can you slide out of those shorts for me?"

Again, the ceiling, then back to another few that made breathless. Nothing but lacy little boy shorts.

"So beautiful," he said.

"Edward?" Her voice was a little unsure, but also urgent.

"Yeah, baby?" he asked.

"Are you touching yourself?"

"God, yes," he told her. He was gripping the fuck out of his dick. He would have already stripped out of his pants and went to full stroking, but he didn't want to lose one second of focus on the amazing display on the screen.

"Can I see?" She asked.

He couldn't help but smirk, it made his ego swell knowing she wanted to see him, too. His ego and his dick.

"Of course," he agreed. He angled his Ipad so that she could see him.

"Oh," she breathed.

"Is that... is that good?" He asked, just a little unsure. He'd never had a girl complain, but it was kind of hard to tell what Bella was thinking, with the layers of technology being what they were. And he really, really wanted her to like what she was seeing.

"Yep, real good," she grunted.

He looked closely at the screen. She licked her lips like a hungry person looking at a perfectly cooked steak.

"Ok, let's get back to you," he said, smiling again. He wanted her to get what she needed, because he wasn't going to be able to keep from getting his much longer.

"Ok," she agreed softly. It was like every word she uttered was an encouragement for his dick. At least, that's what his dick thought.

"Do you want to use your friend?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Can you show it to me?" his curiosity served two purposes. One, he needed to formulate a plan on how to talk her through this. Two, he needed to know how big the damn this was, because he needed some info on his competition.

She held up a dainty silver bullet. Edward smirked.

"You like that right on your clit, don't you, baby?" He asked.

She shivered a little when she heard him mention her most sensitive part. She nodded.

"Here's what I want you to do: I want you to slide that right in your pretty little lace undies, and get it right where you like it. You leave your underwear on, Bella, because the first time I see that pretty little pussy, I want it in real life, so I can put my mouth all over it," he told her.

There were more shivers and shudders from Bella. Apparently, telling her exactly what popped into his head was working. Just as he requested, she placed the bullet in her underwear, without revealing a thing.

"Now turn it on," he told her. His voice sounded rough. He stroked himself through his pants again, reminding himself this was about her.

Again, she did as he requested and he was rewarded with the most mouth-watering little whimper. The hand that was holding her phone was a little unsteady, but the one holding the vibrator still seemed fine.

"Now, I want you to cum for me sweetheart, I need to see you cum," he told her. He wasn't sure if she even heard him because his voice was choked.

Apparently, she did because he was treated to the most intense, amazing display, as her hip found a rhythm quickly, bucking against her own hand, armed with her motorized aid. He watched in open mouthed awe as it only took a couple of moments for her to shatter apart. He knew it happened when her hips stilled at the apex of her motion and she cried out. Then, the phone fell, and Edward was left with a delightful view of the ceiling. He was both distraught and amused. He could hear her cursing softly. When she finally picked up the phone again, she was still a little out of breath.

"Hey," he said with a smirk.

"Hey," she replied with a grin.

"You good?" He asked.

"I'm fucking great," she replied, still grinning. Then it faded into a look of concern, "What about you? I got so... uh... distracted... I didn't think..."

"I'm good," he told her. In truth, his dick was still hard enough to use as a hammer, but he could deal with it.

"Are you sure?" she asked. She gave him a saucy look, "I could talk you through it."

He laughed.

"You can owe me one," he told her.

"Deal," she agreed with a smile. Then she yawned.

"Did I wear you out?" he teased.

She laughed.

"I've got to work in the morning," she told him.

"Work, what a nasty habit," he said with a smirk.

"Well, not all of us can be rich and famous, and good at phone sex," she said.

Edward chuckled.

"I'll talk to Alice tomorrow to see what she says about the site, ok?" Even though their conversation had went somewhere else entirely, he hadn't forgotten her earlier distress.

"Thank you," she said softly, her voice sounding more sleepy by the second. "For everything."

"You're welcome, beautiful. Have sweet dreams," he said softly.

"G'night," she replied.

She disconnected, and Edward lay there, staring at the dark screen for a few moments. He replayed the way her body moved as she came. He thought about her sounds and how powerful it made him feel to be able to have her make those sounds, just using his words. He thought about her sleepy, soft good-bye. Edward was certain of two things, Bella Swan was under his skin...and he needed another shower.

 **A/N** : Jesus, BNP, you take 7 chapters to get to an M and that's it? Turn in your keyboard. :-D

Really though, there's more smut to be had. I'm just keeping the heat on low for now lol

As always my gratitude goes out to every one reading. Your appreciation for my words and your investment in the characters warms my little grinchy heart. And all the commas belong to brwneyedgrl01 because she's awesome and I'm not.

Chapter Songs:Rescue My Heart – Liz Longley

What Gets You Off – Jack's Mannequin

Glory Box – Portishead


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"And," Jasper said, looking imploringly at Bella, "the place has a hot-tub."

It was the Thursday before Spring Break. Bella had one last mid-term and she was looking forward to decompressing for a week. Since she had covered a lot of shifts for Mike during the Christmas season, she had managed to get off for the whole week. Jasper took that as encouragement to lay out a plan that involved a ferry ride to Victoria, his cousin's cabin, and a lot of weed.

Truth be told, Bella would have preferred to spend her spring break somewhere with sun and beaches, but Rose didn't do sun or beaches, or anything where showing skin would be expected. Rose's long sleeves and jeans hid a multitude of scars that few people outside of Bella and Jasper knew about. Rose counted on the two of them to remember and accept, and they did, the same way Jasper and Rose accepted when Bella would spend weeks listening to nothing but her mother's favorite nineties grunge music, or the same way Bella and Rose accepted that they would, on occasion, have to get the key from Jasper's super and physically drag him out of his apartment. When you had that kind of know-you-down-to-your-bones friends remembering, accepting, and making allowances was second nature.

"I like hot-tubs," Bella said, with a nod.

"Good, because we're certainly not spending our last spring break in the make-up section of fucking Wal-Greens," Rose said, idly rifling through the box of new stock Bella was scanning.

"Last spring break?" Jasper asked pointedly.

"Not all of us are career students, Grandpa," Bella teased, patting him on the shoulder.

"Eventually, that'll be doctor Grandpa," he replied. He bumped Rose aside to snatch a package of primer from the box. "Primer? Like they use for painting walls? How much crap do chicks wear on their faces every day?"

"Well, we aren't lucky enough to be as naturally flawless as you, beautiful," Rose said, pinching his cheeks.

This, of course, led to war in which mascaras were hurled, and two people who weren't actually employed at Wal-Greens, stocking shelves with the one person who was.

**WIB**

"Canada? Who goes to Canada for spring break? Aren't you supposed to go to Daytona or Panama or Cancun or something?" Edward asked later that night when Bella filled him in on her plans.

The skype app on her ancient lap top lagged just a little, as his face wrinkled up adorably with his question. It made Bella smile.

"We don't really do beachy places," she told him. "Too much sand, too many people, too expensive."

Her computer caught up just in time to see him shake his head and start fiddling with something off screen.

"Besides," she went on, "there's some really primo smoke there."

Bella smiled as she piled two pairs of sweats into her suitcase. One of the bonuses of such a low-key vacation was that she could spend the week wearing comfy clothes.

"Yeah, but…Canada," Edward muttered, looking distasteful.

"I'm not exactly dying to migrate north, but that's where my favorite people are going to be, so that's where I want to be," she told him. She considered two pair of over the knees socks, then tossed them both in.

"Wait, I'm not a favorite person?" he asked. Bella glanced at the screen to see him wearing a looking of playful indignation.

"Don't worry sweetheart, you're fully in the 'I kinda like you' category. That's much better than the 'I'm merely tolerating you' echelon," she told him smiling sweetly.

"Uh-huh. Look, lady, I was almost voted the sexiest man alive. I'm favorite material," he huffed.

"Yes, dear, I'm sure your plenty of people's favorite," she appeased with a smirk.

"Rotten woman," he replied, rolling his eyes.

Bella blew him and little kiss, and went on to start digging out t-shirts.

"So, you're one hundred percent committed to Canada?" Edward asked after a moment.

Bella stopped what she was doing to focus on the computer screen. He looked like he was thinking pretty hard about something.

"Why do you ask?" she asked.

"Well," he said, slowly, "if you could be convinced to spend your time with a person you "kinda" like, maybe you could come here."

Bella wasn't sure what happened first, the flutter that started in the pit of her stomach, or the tidal wave of emotions that smacked her in the face. Excitement, anticipation, apprehension, and straight up fear. In the time span of just a few moments, she thought of at least a thousand questions. She decided to ask the most important one first.

"You want me to come see you?" she asked softly.

The smile that stretched across his face wasn't his cocky smirk or his playful grin. It was a boyish, earnest smile, and it made him absolutely beautiful.

"Of course I want you to come see me," he replied.

Bella smiled and she felt blush heat her cheeks. Quickly, she got herself under control, before she turned into a huge pile of mush.

"I mean, I guess I could consider it," she said, her grin turning sassy.

Edward laughed.

"I'm honored to be considered," he said. "In fact, I'm even more honored than when I was almost voted sexiest man alive. Hey, did I mention I was almost voted sexiest man alive?"

It was Bella's turn to laugh.

**WIB**

Edward drained the last sips from his coffee cup and steeled his nerves as he dialed his sister's phone number. It was still early, but he wanted to get this out of the way first thing. He anticipated facing the equivalent of a conversational firing squad.

"This is Alice," she answered in her business tone.

"Hello, Big Sister," he said. He couldn't help but smile, sometimes it really was fun to yank her chain.

"No, Edward. I don't care if you have a dead hooker on your living room rug literally covered in a mountain of coke. Whatever non-sense is going on, you deal with it. I'm trying to line out the European leg of next year's tour. I do not have time," she ranted.

Edward was pretty sure she hadn't even taken a breath. Of course, he found her tirade hilarious and had to take a minute to stop laughed before he could attempt to calm her.

"There's no dead hooker, Alice," he assured her.

"Then why are you 'Big Sistering' me?" she demanded.

"Because, you're my big sister…and also my manager, and professional courtesy dictates that I should let you know when I won't be available for a week," he told her in his most calming tone.

"Oh, is that it?" Edward could hear relief in Alice's voice, but it quickly turned back to alarm. "Wait, what do you mean you won't be available? Don't you have filming next week?"

"Canceled, Jana was double booked or something, so they backed it up by a week," he explained. "I thought they let you know."

"I have messages I haven't gotten to yet," she said distractedly. Edward could almost hear the gears in Alice's machine like brain grinding away. "Ok, so no filming. Good. Ok. So, why won't you be available?"

"I'm going to have a visitor," he said.

Silence took over the line. Edward began to smirk. Alice was waiting on him to elaborate and he was waiting on her to ask him to. All too often, Alice forgot that Edward was more than just a business interest. He liked to use times like this to remind her he wasn't.

"Oh, Jesus, Edward, who is it?" she asked, finally losing her patience.

Edward chuckled.

"Bella," he replied.

It took Alice a moment.

"The same small town Bella who got freaked out over a little picture on The Superficial?" she asked. Edward could picture the arched eyebrows of sardonic disbelief.

"Yes. That Bella," he said, amicably.

Alice sighed.

"Fine," she replied.

It was Edward's turn to be surprised.

"Fine?" he asked. He'd expected all kinds of push back.

"Yes, Little Brother, fine. However, when you need me to do damage control, which you will, be prepared to beg. Possibly grovel," she told him.

"Fine," he said, with a pleased shrug.

"Fine," Alice said and hung up the phone.

Edward couldn't help but smile as he looked out his kitchen windows at the city; that conversation had been the easiest of the ones he'd had lately. When he asked Bella to come visit, it had been spur of the moment, as things usually were with him, and he'd spent most of the conversation making silly jokes so panic didn't make him completely nuts. Then, last night she had called back to give him an answer. She had been at the lake with her friends. They had went to their spot to blow off steam after their finals finished. At first, Edward was stoked, because Bella told him that she decided to come see him, instead of going to Canada. Then Rose grabbed the phone.

"I can't believe you," she hissed, instead of saying hello.

"Um… I'm sorry," he blurted, surprised by the girl's fire.

"You should be! You're stealing my best friend in the entire freaking world," in the background Edward heard, what he assumed to be Jasper, yelling in offense about being chopped liver. "Right before spring break. What are your intentions toward my friend?"

Judging from Rose's slight slurring, and Bella's giggling somewhere nearby, Edward was pretty sure they were pretty tipsy.

"My intentions are completely honorable," he assured Rose.

"Well, then why the hell would she come there for that? She can sit around with us being honorable. She's coming to you to do some dishonorable shit. Can't wear white on her wedding day shit. Probably still illegal in Southern states shit," Rose ranted.

"In which case, my intentions are completely dishonorable," he amended his statement.

While the crazy girl on the phone was a bit overwhelming, it was nice to know that Bella had friends that cared enough to rip into a total stranger for her.

"Hang on a minute," Rose told him. Following that, he heard what sounded like Rose moving away, while Bella asked her where she was going with her phone. Then, it sounded like the phone was muffled in a shirt or something, then Rose was back again. "Ok, look, seriously, I need you to take care of my friend. Like, really good care of her. I know you're mister important rock star guy, but she's important too."

"I know," he agreed.

"Do you? Do you think she's important? Important to you?" Rose was pretty direct for someone who'd been imbibing.

"Well…yeah. She is important," he told Rose truthfully.

"Ok, good," she said. She sounded happy.

"Ok," he agreed. He was smiling, amused at both the conversation, and as crazy it was, that he'd just admitted feelings, he'd barely even admitted to himself, to a virtual stranger.

"Oh, and Edward?"

"Yes?"

"If you hurt my friend, I'll rip your balls off," she said and hung up the phone.

Now, all that was left was waiting for her flight to come in. The night before, he'd circled the house, checking on things. There was a cleaning service that came twice a week so everything was tidy. There wasn't much to eat, but he figured they'd just order in whatever they wanted. There was extra pillows and blankets in the guest bedroom. On one hand, he really hoped they'd spend time doing dishonorable activities, and the guest room would go undisturbed. On the other, he didn't want to be presumptuous. He sat down with his lap top and tried to focus on work e-mails, but it was no use. He was like a kid waiting on Christmas morning. Eventually, he gave up all together. He grabbed his hat and keys, and headed out at least an hour before he needed. He figured, at least at the airport he could people watch.

On a bench in the arrivals area, he alternated between playing on his phone, and watching people greet their loved ones. That, of course, led him to wonder how he should greet Bella. Should he sweep her into a big hug and spin her around playfully? Should he do the side hug thing and take her bag? Was there even a protocol for almost hooked up social media friends? He sighed. It seemed like he only had two modes where this girl was concerned; either he flew by the seat of his pants with no thought at all, or he agonized over every little thing.

His buzzing phone brought him out of his inner turmoil.

 _This place is insane,_ her text read, followed by a shocked emoji.

He smiled.

 _I'm in the arrivals area. Did you check bags?_

 _Nope, I'm a light traveler_

He headed over to the escalators to watch for her. When she came into view, he couldn't stop his grin. She was looking this way and that, for him presumably. He saw her lift her phone, but before she started to text or call, her eyes caught his. It only took a second for her smile to match his. Neither of them looked away, as she rode down, what had to be, the world's slowest escalator. When she reached the ground, she stepped over to him.

"Hey, rockstar," she said happily.

"Hello, beautiful," he replied.

Then, he just did what he felt was right. He took her face in both of his hands, and kissed her.

 **A/N:** Would you look at that, they're together again. Reunited...and it feels so good. And now that we've gotten the lame musical pun out of the way, standard thank yous apply. Thanks to my Beta doing awesome Beta things. And thanks to you guys reading along and telling me what you think (by reviews and favorites/alerts).

Chapter Songs: Calling You – Blue October

Sweater Weather – The Neighborhood


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Are you hungry? We should go get hot dogs," Edward said. One arm was slung casually around Bella's shoulders, and he was wheeling her small suitcase, along with the other.

Largely, Bella was in the moment. She was basking in the warmth of his embrace, hearing his voice again in real time, and the already easy flow of talking and being together. Then, there was a small part of her that was on high alert. It wasn't just the huge airport, jam-packed with people, it was the looks. At first, she thought she was imagining it, but when the third person got wide-eyed and pointed their phone, she knew that Edward's hat and shades weren't disguising shit.

"I could eat a dog," she agreed quietly. "Preferably somewhere with less people."

Edward glanced down at her, and even though his eyes were hidden behind the shades, the furrow in his brow told her he knew something was up. It took him a second to work through it. When he did, he glanced around, as if suddenly realizing where they were.

"Shit," he cursed. "Yeah. Yeah, less people. I can make that happen."

Their pace leaving the airport was a little less languid. When they reached his car in the parking lot, he quickly unlocked and stowed her bag away. Bella smiled when she climbed in, and ran her fingers of the lovingly restored leather.

"So, this is your baby," she said.

"Second prettiest girl I know," Edward replied, with a wink.

Bella felt her cheeks warm just a little. She reached and tugged his arm just before he put the key in the ignition.

"What's up, Beautiful?" he asked, mirroring her smile. It was like neither of them could stop.

Without words, Bella pulled him closer, and he came quite willingly. He was still smiling when his lips hit hers. The kiss was sweet and light. It was just what Bella needed to relax.

"Now we can go," she told him when it was over.

**WIB**

Forks and PA had not prepared Bella for LA traffic. Sure, everyone knew about LA traffic, but to be in it, was a whole other thing. It took them roughly an hour to get to the hole in the wall joint Edward wanted to eat at. In most other situations, the constant stop and very little go would have turned her into a road raging maniac; however, with the top down, Edward's hand holding hers, and him singing along with the radio, she kinda hoped they'd get stuck for another hour…or two.

Of course, her mind changed when they entered Chi-Town Dawgz. The smell of spicy chili and grilled meat made her realize she hadn't eaten since that morning. The pictures of hot dogs topped with ridiculous piles of toppings behind the counter made her mouth water. Edward smiled down at her.

"There's nothing here that isn't delicious," he told her.

"I'm so freaking happy right now," she replied.

They placed their order for beers, dogs, and chili cheese fries and settled into one of the high top tables a few steps away.

"I like this," Bella said, as she snapped pictures of the Chicago themed décor with her phone.

Edward smiled.

"I'm telling you, just wait until you try the dog," he told her.

Not only did Bella like the restaurant's style, she liked how small and cozy it was. There was a small eating counter with a few stools and just a few tables. It was nice to know that with all his money and status, Edward still picked normal stuff over the elite. And since they were the only people there, aside from the cook/cashier, Bella didn't feel like she'd spend her whole meal cringing away from prying eyes.

"How'd you find this place?" she asked.

"There's a bar not too far from here we played at when we were first starting out," he told her.

"Not so much with the playing in bars these days, huh?" she asked, with a smile.

Edward grinned. The last five years had been all arenas and entertainment complexes for Midnight Sun Alter.

"Not so much," he agreed.

"Do you miss it? Having a more intimate setting with your fans?" she asked.

Suddenly, Bella felt a little bad that, in all their conversations, they hadn't really discussed what it did for a living. She knew she had kind, of intentionally kept away from the subject, because she liked to separate Edward the rock star from Edward her…friend. By his smile alone, she could see how much he loved what he did.

"It's two very different experiences," he said. "In a smaller venue, you can really connect with the audience. You can see the look on their face and know they're really feeling your words. But, when you've got thousands of people singing along with you and the energy is through the roof, it's a high like nothing else in the world."

He spoke with wide eyes, bright green impressed his passion on Bella. She felt a little high herself.

"I got a Chicago style and an Italian beef," the cook said, placing piping hot food on the counter.

Edward gave Bella another grin before hopping up to go grab their lunch.

"Are you ready to feast?" he asked, setting the basket filled with a massive hotdog in front of her.

"God, yes," she said. The dog looked every bit as amazing as he made it out to be. It took Bella minute to plan out her attack, due to the size and topping composition, but when she finally got the first bite in her mouth, she thought she'd died and went to Heaven. "Oh my go so fluf goo," she tried to say, around a mouth full of amazingness.

Edward laughed. He had yet to take his first bite, waiting patiently for her reaction. As he went to put a forkful in his mouth, his phone began to buzz.

"Damn it," he huffed, fishing it out of his pocket.

Bella watched, amused and contently chewing.

"Yeah," he answered.

Bella thought it was interesting to just watch him when he wasn't focused on her. She thought that it would fade, but everything about his face was still so damn appealing to her. The way his mouth formed around words. The way his eyes were sometimes more green or more gray. The sharp lines of his jaw and cheekbones. She only snapped out of her lusty haze when she heard him say the words "yeah, maybe we'll see you there". She focused in only to hear him saying goodbyes to whoever he was talking to.

"So, that was my boy, Garrett," Edward said, laying the phone down. The look in his eyes, hesitant and regretful, made Bella put down her dog. "And he was inviting us to the first of many engagement celebrations tonight."

Bella puzzled over the statement for a moment. She wasn't sure why that would make Edward look so concerned.

"Ok," she hedged.

"Thing is, he invited us," he said, eyes widening to emphasis the word us.

"Ok," she said again. There was something there, but it was just out of Bella's grasp. She thought maybe it was Edward effect making her ditzy again.

"I didn't tell him you were here," he said.

Bella's brow winkled.

"Then how does he know….shit," her question died when she realized exactly what had happened.

Edward sighed and picked up his phone. He tapped a few times, and when he handed it to her, it was open to his twitter feed, which was filled with photos of the two of them. Bella sighed deeply. This was exactly what she had been scared of. She scrolled down and saw so many pictures, from so many angles. Pictures right up until they climbed in his car. It made her feel uneasy, and just a little violated.

"I'm sorry," Edward said, reaching over to place his hand on hers.

She nodded.

"Bella," Edward's voice was soft, and Bella finally looked up from his phone. "You did know this was unavoidable right?"

"I'm sure I could have just rented a car or something," she began.

"Yeah, but at some point," he cut her off gently shaking his head, "you will be seen with me. Two people in a relationship will be seen together by someone, at some point."

Bella's head was spinning. Her face was being blasted all over the internet, and Edward had just said the word _relationship_. She took a deep breath.

"I mean, you get that right?" Edward reached and took both of her hands in his.

She was quiet for a moment longer.

"I mean, I am who I am. I can't change that," he went on. Clearly, her silence was freaking him out. "I mean, if you want me to, I could snatch up every phone that gets pointed at us and smash the shit out of it, but I think that would get pretty expensive, what with the eventual court costs and all."

Bella couldn't help but chuckle. Leave it to Edward to make her laugh every time she thought things were completely fucked and uncontrollable.

"So, what do we do now?" she asked.

"Well, you can tell me you don't want to deal with this shit, and I'll change your flight. You can head home, and I won't bother you anymore. However, I will be heartbroken from missing you, and will drown my sorrows in a bottle. My career will deteriorate and die. You'll see the whole thing on the news, and, eventually as a cautionary tale on VH1," he told her, completely earnest. "Or, you can kinda roll with the punches and be the girlfriend of a famous guy in a band."

Bella smirked.

"You want me to be your girlfriend?" she asked.

"Oh...well…yeah," Edward babbled. Bella was pretty sure he hadn't even realized the label was a big deal.

"You mean, you like me?" she sing-songed, grinning. "You like me a lot."

Edward laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, woman, I like you a lot," he told her.

"You wanna be my booooyyyyfriend," she was having too much fun teasing him. He looked at her pointedly. "Fine. I'm all yours, Rockstar. But I can't promise I'm going to be good at this whole camera, media thing."

Edward smiled.

"I'll do whatever I have to, to take care of you," he said. "With all that being said, wanna go to a party?"

**WIB**

"So, I need a favor," Edward said, when his sister answered the phone.

After lunch, he and Bella headed back to his place. Edward's head was swimming from everything that had happened. He had a real, standard girlfriend for the first time since high school. In the corners of his mind, where he expected to find panic, he only found excitement. Everything with Bella felt so damn right, there was no fear. The fact that she was willing to commit to being a part of the crazy, intrusive life led by the famous told him everything he needed to know about the way she felt about it. Even though it was Garrett and Bree's nigh,t he was looking forward to introducing his new girlfriend to his friends. Only problem was Bella didn't have anything to wear that would meet the club's dress code. While Bella checked out his vinyl collection, Edward was calling his problem solver.

"Edward," Alice sighed. "Despite what you may think, I can't control the internet. I can't make every single celebrity worshiping dipshit on Twitter delete pictures of your little friend."

"That's not the favor, Alice," he told her.

"Oh?"

"Nope, we are unconcerned. Also, my girlfriend," he couldn't help but smirk as he said the g word.

"Girlfriend. Huh," Edward detected a note of impressed in Alice's voice. "Then, what's this favor."

"You know Garrett and Bree are having an engagement thing at The Lounge tonight?" he asked.

"Yeah, I was going to pop in for a few, but some things came up," his sister replied.

"Well, Bella needs a dress," he told her.

"Dress. Right," she replied. Edward heard her start to tap on her ever-present iPad. "I could make that happen. But in what aspect am I doing this favor? Is this a sister favor or a manager favor?"

By the tone of Alice's voice, Edward knew it would cost him.

"This is a sister favor," he replied.

"Then, littler brother, the cost is a private concert at my house, for a friend of mine's birthday," she told him.

Edward wrinkled his nose.

"What if it's a manager favor?"

"Then it's a private concert, for my friend's birthday, at her actual party," she said smugly.

Edward laughed.

"Fine, one acoustic couch show," he told his sister.

"Send me a picture of your girl so I can get the sizing right," she replied.

**WIB**

The dress was amazing. It was gold and sparkly, and hugged Bella's curves in a way that was lethal. She'd taken her time flat ironing her hair and doing her make-up dark and smudgy. The matching gold stilettos made her legs look a mile long. When he picked her up to go to his father's party, he remembered thinking she looked like a vintage movie star. Now, she looked like a femme fatale.

"Wow," he said, taking his time eyeing her up and down when she walked out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. He was sitting on the edge of his bed tying his shoes. Even though they were already twenty minutes late, Edward had only managed the get his pants and shoes on. Every time he'd started getting dressed, he'd thought of something else he wanted to tell Bella, or show her, or he just got sidetracked thinking about her.

She smiled.

"These heels are going to kill me. This is like, the tiniest stiletto in the history of shoes," she said with wide eyes.

"Alice always says beauty is pain," he told her with a laugh.

She moved to stand between his legs and took his face in both of her hands.

"Is that why it hurts to look at you?" she asked.

Edward felt his heart start to thump in his chest. It wasn't like women didn't comment on his looks all the time, they did. But hearing those words from this sweet girl was something else entirely. It caused a tidal wave of mixed up emotion. Warmth, happiness, and a whole fuck ton of lust punched him in the gut. He leaned up and she met him halfway. The kiss was more intense than their hello kiss, by a long shot. Her tongue darted past his lips to touch his own. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. His hands moved restlessly down her back and over the curve of her ass. He groaned against her mouth. It pained him to pull away.

"We're already late," he said, smiling sheepishly.

"Right," she said, letting out a deep breath. Her eyes were bright and her skin was flushed. Edward was willing to bet if he suggested skipping the party, she'd go along with it. He was very tempted.

Bella stepped away, and he missed her warmth immediately.

"I'm a little nervous about this," she told him, as he pulled his shirt on and buttoned it up.

He shook his head dismissive.

"It's not going to be a big deal. We'll be in the VIP section of the club. There'll be twenty, thirty people tops. And some of them will be far more important than me, so that should keep the cameras off you," he told her.

She still looked apprehensive.

"If anyone hassles you, you let me know immediately, and I'll deal with it," he told her. He stood and circled her in his arms again. "Besides, I don't plan on letting you get that far from me."

**WIB**

Bree had taken to Bella like a house fire. Then again, Bree was three sheets to the wind. As soon as Edward and Bella had approached the velvet roped VIP area, they'd hear her shouting "I'm getting married, bitches" at the top of her lungs.

"Oh my God, you have a girlfriend now?" Bree yelled, when Edward introduced them.

"It seem so," Edward said laughing.

"Babe, you don't have to yell, it's not that loud in here," Garrett told his fiancé.

"Am I loud?" she asked, wide eyed, clapping her hand to her mouth.

"You're perfect," Garrett appeased her with a laugh. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and Bree was beaming again.

"I'm getting married!" she yelled again. The thumping beat of the music changed and Bree lunged forward and grabbed Bella's hand. "I love this song, let's dance!"

Edward expected to see alarm on Bella's face but instead, she looked amused. He looked at her questioningly, as she forcible followed Bree.

 _I'm good_ , she mouthed to him.

"Well, look at that, we must all be growing up. I'm getting married and you have a real girlfriend," Garrett teased his friend, as they settled onto leather couches. Garrett put ice in two glasses, followed by a generous pour of whiskey.

"Shock and awe," Edward replied with a grin.

"She from here?" Garrett asked.

"Nope, she lives in Washington. Same place my parents stay," he said.

"So, long distance thing. How's that working out?"

"Pretty well," Edward said. Although it was nice to talk to his friend, he couldn't fight the pull toward his girl. His eyes found her on the dance floor. He licked his lips as he studied her swaying hips. All day, thoughts about how much he wanted her hadn't been far from his mind, but he'd kept things low key as to not overwhelm her. He wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to stay chaste.

"So I see," Garrett laughed. He raised his glass for a toast. "To finding a good woman."

Edward tapped his glass against his friend's enthusiastically.

**WIB**

Hours later, Bella was at his side, and her hand was on his ass. He sincerely hoped she wasn't drunk. Not that Edward minded her having a good time, but it was a twenty minute drive home, and anything past ten minutes was pass out zone. He turned his attention away from the bar and looked closely at his girl.

"Are you drunk?" he asked.

Bella grinned.

"Nope," she said popping the p. "I just like your ass."

Edward grinned back at her.

"Well, I'm pretty fond of yours as well," he said.

"I bet I've got a few other things you might like," she told him with a sassy smirk.

Edward shook his head at the incredible woman in front of him.

"I bet you've got more than just a few," he returned.

The bartender handed over their drinks and they headed back to their spot, hand in hand. Bella drank down some of the cherry coke she'd asked for, then fished the cherry out. As Edward watched, she popped the fruit in her mouth, and a few second later, a knotted stem came back out. Edward raised an eyebrow at her smirk, then pulled her to him. He attacked her mouth. She tasted like cherries and she kissed him back with equal fever. His hands gripped her ass and pulled her against him, hips to hips. When they were both breathless, he pulled away.

"You taste so good, I could eat you alive," he growled in her ear. He felt her shiver in response. When he looked in her eyes, they were wide and excited. Without another word, he took her hand and led her to say goodbye.

"Bella!" Bree shouted, "Find me on Instagram!"

Bella laughed and agreed that she would. There were good-byes and congratulations. Then Bella and Edward were weaving their way through the crowd. Edward had his arm around her shoulders, his fingertips were tracing patterns on her bare shoulders. It was like her skin was magnetic. He couldn't stop touching her.

The paparazzi had dwindled, and the car he'd called earlier was waiting by the curb. He hustled his girl in and didn't allow an inch of space between him when he slid in next to her. Twenty minutes was going to take way too long. As soon as they left the streets and hit the highway, Edward turned to Bella.

"Did I tell you how fucking sexy you looked tonight?" he murmured, brushing aside her hair and leaning in to nuzzle her neck.

She gasped softly. She placed one hand on his thigh. He didn't know if she was trying to push him away or just brace herself.

"Edward," she whispered. "The driver."

Edward pulled back just enough to look her in eyes.

"I'm not doing anything," he said with a smirk, then leaned in again, brushed his nose up the soft skin of her throat. "I can't help you smell so good."

She shuddered. The hand on his thigh gripped with nails.

"I bet you feel good, too," he said and nibbled just a little on her ear lobe.

This time he got a full blown whimper.

"How long is this ride?" she whispered urgently.

"Just a few more minutes," he promised. Traffic was light so the drive, thankfully, wasn't taking quite as long. "Just a few more minutes and I want you out of that dress."

"I… I want that too," she said. He could hear her making an effort to steady her breath.

"Do you want me?" he asked.

"So bad," she whispered.

He took her face in both of his hands and kissed her. They barely managed to stop when the car came to a halt in front of his door. They fumbled their way out of the car, and stumbled through the door, unable to stop kissing and touching. Edward walked backward, guiding Bella through the house. He also managed to shed his jacket while they moved in sync, had he not been so focused on enjoying how delicious Bella tasted, he probably would have marveled at his agility. Still moving through the dim house, he pushed the straps of her dress over her shoulders. It slid down, and with the slightest bit of help from him, it landed on the floor. Bella stepped out without hesitation, and it was then he realized they'd never make it to the bedroom. He had to be inside of her immediately.

With his hands around her waist, he pushed her in front of him and walked them into the kitchen. Through the window he could see the lights of the city sparkling. He took her there and placed her palms flat on the glass.

"I need you now," he whispered in her ear, pressing against her so she could feel how hard he was.

Her answer was a groan, as she pressed her soft ass back against him. He shuddered and kissed the shell of her ear and her neck. With one hand, he traced a line with this fingertips down the soft skin of her stomach to skimpy lace underwear, with the other, he opened his belt and pants, letting them fall around his feet. He cupped her sex and groaned loudly when he found her hot and wet.

"Oh, God, please," she whimpered.

Clearly, she needed this as bad as he did. He pushed the lacy little scrap down her thighs and she squirmed to step out of them. He shoved his boxer briefs down his thighs and traced along her wetness with the head of his dick.

"God, you're so fucking wet," he groaned.

"Edward, please," she pleaded.

"You want me in you, baby?" he asked.

"Please," she replied, her hips and ass pushing back at him so hard he almost stumbled.

That was the last encouragement he needed. He pushed inside her with one strong stroke.

"Oh my God," he cried, when she was wrapped around him, hot and tight.

"God, yes," she groaned, her agreeance.

Edward came in close and kissed her neck and shoulders, then he gripped both of her hips in his hands, and he went to work. He stroked long and deep. Her whimpers and little pleads for more spurned him on. It wasn't long before he felt a familiar tightening in his balls.

"Can you come, sweetheart?" he asked.

"I need…" she took one of the hands bracing herself against the glass and pulled one of his hands from her hip. She guided him to her clit. He touched lightly as he stroked, and her legs started shaking. He made his stokes more shallow and longer in between and he touched her just where she told him to. "God, yes. Like that," she groaned.

When she came, she yelled his name. Just a couple more long, hard strokes and he was shooting over the edge himself. He dropped to the floor and took her with him. Sitting next to him, she snuggled under his arm.

"Sorry, we didn't get to the bed," he said.

"That's perfectly ok," she replied.

They sat in comfortable silence, coming down from their high. A few moments later Bella spoke.

"But I do need one thing from you," she told him.

He looked down at her and reached one hand up to softly stroke her face.

"Anything," he said.

She wrinkled her nose.

"Can you get me a towel?" she asked

A/N: Achievement Unlocked: Solid M Rating. Fist pump.

Thanks, as usual, to everyone reading along (I have so much love for how _involved_ y'all are with these characters) and thanks to my beta for hitting this with the magic wand.

Extra love to Random Rita at Rob Attack for featuring WIB as a Friday Feature Fic and welcome to everyone who got here from there. It makes me misty in the eye region, I swear.

Also, Chi-Town Dawgz is a real place. Only, it's in Mobile AL. If you ever have the chance to go there, do it. There is a gaping sadness in my heart due to the fact that I don't actually live close enough to go there everyday. Had the hot dog I had there been a person I would have immediately filed for divorce so we could have been together.

Chapter Songs: Californication – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Animals – Maroon 5


	10. Chapter 10

The bedroom curtains were open just a crack, and the resulting sliver of sunlight was cutting across Bella's bare chest. As Edward watched the steady rise and fall of her bare breasts, his morning wood turned into a different kind of wood… Bella wood. The kind of wood he'd been sporting pretty much all week.

Of course, they had spent some of their time doing other things. They spent an afternoon at Disney, which ended with Edward finally getting to nail a princess. They hung out in Hollywood doing tourist stuff; they made out in front of the Hollywood sign. They took a long beach drive with the top down and found a secluded place to park and christen the back seat. Edward ended up with a little bit of sunburn on his ass that day. Then, yesterday, he was able to take Bella to his favorite place in the world, the studio. She marveled at the soundboards and the technology.

"Sing for me?" she asked.

Edward felt butterflies in his stomach. He was nervous. He hadn't been nervous in years. He'd sang for thousands of girls in concerts, but singing for this girl was different. He wanted Bella to be impressed. He wanted to make her feel something with his words, the way the fan girls always claimed they did. He wanted her to feel something for him.

"I'm not really warmed up or anything," he told her.

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Rockstar, sing for me or I'll tell everyone you're nothing but Autotune," she teased.

"Autotune," he huffed, good-naturedly. "Never."

She gave him a smirk and gestured to the sound booth as if say show instead of tell.

"Fine," he said. He fired the equipment up and set it so that she'd hear him. Then he headed into the sound room.

He didn't know what he was going to sing until he opened his mouth. What came out was Rihanna's Stay. He closed his eyes and he belted it out like he was trying to impress a whole damn stadium full of fans. When he finished and he opened his eyes, he was sure he'd impressed the one person who mattered. Bella was staring at him with the most amazing mixture of hunger and awe imprinted on her face. She beckoned for him to come to her and he nearly ran out of the booth. He swept her into his arms, against the wall, and used the same intensity he'd put into the song into making her cry out his name.

Edward was pulled back to the present when Bella opened her eyes and stretched sleepily. She caught him looking at her and arched an eye.

"That's not creepy at all," she said, voice groggy with sleep.

Edward smiled.

"Just debating the best way to wake you up," he said, reaching one hand over to draw lazy circles around her breasts with the tip of his finger. He wanted to start their last full day together the best way he knew how.

Bella's eyes drifted back closed and she smiled.

"That's a good way," she murmured.

"I can think of a better one," he replied, shifting over atop her. He traded fingertips for lips and smiled against her skin when she reacted to his touch by squirming against him.

"Yeah, I like that even more," she agreed.

"Then you're going to love this," he said, sliding lower.

Her only answer was a soft moan when his mouth reached his intended target between her legs.

**WIB**

Sunday came way too fast. Edward had a mile long list in his head of things he still wanted to show Bella, places he wanted to go, sex he wanted to have. As she had made one final lap around the house ensuring she had all of her stuff, he'd asked multiple times if she was sure she had to go. He knew she had to get back to her life in Washington, but he figured it didn't hurt to ask.

Now they were lingering in front of the baggage check, neither of them quite ready to let go. Bella had chosen an early morning flight to try and avoid gawkers, and the gray light streaming through the glass was pretty indicative of Edward's mood.

"You're super sure?" he asked again, pulling Bella close to him and kissing the top of her head.

She sighed.

"No, but I'm getting on the plane anyway," she replied, burying her face in his chest.

They stood quietly for a moment, holding on tight, then Edward took a step back without letting go.

"So, when do I see you again?" he asked.

Bella mulled the question over for a minute.

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "We've both got some much going on."

Edward nodded. She was pointing out the obvious, of course.

"Right," he agreed. "So, just play in by ear?"

It was Bella's turn to nod.

"I think that's all we can do," she said.

"Alright then," he said, and pulled her in again.

When the speakers squawked something about her flight number, Bella pulled back.

"I should get going," she said.

Edward placed one of his hands to the side of her face and she nuzzled into it, appreciating his touch. Then he bent and guided her lips to his. He kissed her twice. One kiss for her to take along with her and one for him to keep.

"Text me when you get there," he told her when he pulled away. His hand drifted down her side and hooked her fingertips with his own. He wanted to touch her for a long as he could.

"I will," she agreed.

Slowly she stepped back and the connection between their bodies was broken. Edward watched as she disappeared into the crowd. Even though they agreed to play it by ear, he couldn't help but feel like he'd just lost something. Even though he'd been ignoring the facts as much as possible, he knew that they lived two very different lives. For a relationship to really work between the two of them, it was going to take some major sacrifice. He just didn't know which one of them could, or would, be the one to do the sacrificing.

**WIB**

There was turbulence on Bella's flight home. As freaked out as she was, a small part of her was glad for it. The bumpy ride gave her something to focus on that wasn't Edward Cullen. The plane landed and she focused on the tasks of getting her bag, texting Edward to let him know she made it, and texting Rose who was picking her up. In the pick-up lane, she tossed her bag into Rose's backseat and climbed in.

"Hey, Hollywood," Rose greeted her with a grin when she climbed in the front.

Bella smiled at her friend… then the tears started. Without words, Rose reached out and took one of Bella's hands. By the time she navigated out of the airport and onto the highway, Bella had gotten herself under control.

"So, maybe things didn't go so well?" Rose asked.

Bella swallowed hard.

"They went too well," she told her friend.

"Well, that seems like a good reason to cry your eyes out," Rose said, shooting a quick glance at Bella before turning her concentration back to the road.

Bella smiled in spite of herself.

"It was just that everything was so freaking awesome. He was awesome. His friends are awesome. His place is awesome. And I had to leave all the awesome there. And he's my boyfriend now. I had to leave my boyfriend miles away, in his awesome house, with his awesome life," she explained.

"So, TMZ was right on the boyfriend thing," Rose said, with a nod. "And don't think we're not addressing how dicked up it is to find that out from the internets instead of my best friend. Because we are."

Bella chuckled.

"Sorry, I should have told you, I was just caught up in being there, with him," Bella apologized.

"Whatever, you owe me a beer. Don't let that shit happen again," Rose dismissed with a wave of her hand. "So, now, instead of a long distance thing, you have an actual long distance relationship."

"Right. How does that even work? Look at my life, look at his. How do you put those together and make it work?" Bella pondered.

"Pretty much what I was worried about from the beginning, B," Rose told her softly.

"I know," Bella said. "But knowing shit doesn't trump feeling shit."

Rose reached out and gave Bella's hand another squeeze.

"Ain't that the truth," she agreed.

**WIB**

Bella propped her chin on her hand and sighed as she watched the rain outside the glass doors. She'd been back home three days, and it had rained all three of them. She shot one last dejected look at the storm and fished her phone out of her pocket.

 _We should have spent more time outside._

Her reasoning for texting Edward was twofold. One, she really did regret not spending even more time in the California sunshine than they did. Two, she just wanted to hear from him. He didn't disappoint. His response came only a moment later, even though she knew he was working on the last block of filming for his show.

 _I think one sunburn on my ass was quite enough tyvm._

Bella smirked at the reply, and at the memory of the day they got busy in the back seat. The smile faded quickly when she remembered that it would probably be quite a while before she climbed into that backseat again. It was little thoughts like that, that made the constant rain even more depressing. Since she'd gotten home, it was like a depressing little thought was right around every corner. Before her trip to California, she'd never noticed how quite her house was. Of course, when her dad was home Sports Center or the news was blaring away in the living room, but he spent a lot of time at work or visiting with friends, so that meant most of the time silence and emptiness filled the house. Silence and stillness that had never bothered Bella before seemed huge and daunting now. Before spending time with Edward, Bella was accustomed to being on her own. While she did spend a fair amount of time with Rose and Jasper, there were a lot of solitary hours in her day to day life. She'd never noticed that before. Now, she felt alone. She felt loneliness.

Lost in thought, Bella didn't hear the door, or notice the customer, until she was nearly to the counter. Roughly the same time, Mike had appeared from the back. Bella plastered on the retail smile.

"Hi, welcome to Wal-Greens," she hurriedly greeted the young lady.

It only took seconds for Bella to realize this encounter was going to go sideways. The first indicator was the sour, borderline angry look on the young lady's face. Bella guessed she was a few years younger than her, certainly a little more edgy, with her pierced brow and gauged ears. The second indicator was the Midnight Sun Alter t-shirt.

"He'll never love you," the girl snapped, eyes blazing at Bella from under layers of eye-liner.

"Uh," Bella stuttered. She figured that was a lot more professional than the "what the fuck" that was on the tip of her tongue.

"Edward loves music and his fans. In that order. He said so," the girl went on.

"Ok," Bella said agreeably. She figured it was better to humor the crazy.

"If you think he's going to give it all up for some lame ass starfucker working in a Wal-Greens, your delusional," the girl hissed.

"Lady-" Bella began, she'd had just about enough of the non-sense.

"Ma'am, if you don't get your crazy ass out of my store right now, I'm calling the cops," Mike told the girl, coming to stand behind Bella.

The girl glared at Mike for a second then turned her attention back to Bella. When she went to open her mouth again, Mike grabbed the phone.

"I'm not kidding. Hit the door or I'm calling," he said.

"Whatever," the girl said with a huff, turning back toward the exit. "I'm totally calling your corporate. And I'm leaving a review on Yelp. I'll have both of your jobs."

"You do that, ma'am, and have a nice day," Mike called after her as she hurried out. As the doors slid closed, he laid a comforting hand on Bella's shoulder. "Well…that was…fun."

Despite the intensity of the interaction, Bella couldn't help but chuckle. She turned to lean against the counter and face her manager. He hung the phone back up and shook his head.

"This what we're doing now that you're famous?" he asked. He seemed pretty chill about the whole experience.

"I certainly hope not," Bella said, shaking her head.

"Well, if we need to call the police station and have them send a patrol over once or twice a night, we can," Mike said.

Bella sighed. The social media buzz was bad enough. She'd had to shut down the Twitter account she barely used and redo all of the security settings on her Facebook and Instagram. The "don't be a Yoko" comments were bad enough, but the threats and nastiness she'd seen before she reset everything, was pretty upsetting. The last thing she wanted to deal with was her Dad getting worried and going full into overprotective cop mode. However, she did understand Mike's point of view. One of these crazies could pose a real threat.

"That could be a good idea, but can I ask a favor?" she replied.

Mike nodded for her to go on.

"Can we say it's about something else? I don't want my dad to freak," she said.

"Bella, how can he not know what's going on? You're dating one of the biggest names in pop music right now," Mike said.

Bella shrugged. Mike was probably right about that too but she'd yet to broach the subject with her Dad, and she planned to put that off as long as possible.

"He's more of a George Strait kind of guy," she said.

Mike chuckled.

"Ok, I'll think of something. But in the meantime, how about you stock and I'll register," he said.

Bella smiled.

"Deal," she agreed.

 **A/N:** Sorry about the hiatus folks, real life got real (including, but not limited to running a half marathon and some house remodeling). If you rode the dry spell out thanks for hanging in there.

Special thanks to the fabulous SarcasticBimbo for recing WIB on the Smut Sluts and Angst Whores blog. If you haven't checked it out yet go ahead and do that. I'll wait.

brwneyedgrl01 still has my heart and my updates before anyone else cause she has to make them pretty.

Chapter Songs: Stay – Originally By Rihanna/Covered by 30 Seconds to Mars (listen to the cover, picture Edward singing. You're welcome)

Deep Inside of You – Third Eye Blind


	11. Chapter 11

"I have an announcement," Rose said, gesturing for silence with her beer.

Bella smiled, after her little adventure to fairy tale land, life had rolled along on its normal track fairly quickly. The semester and her overall college career was only a week away from ending. Just a few more finals to pass and she'd have the Bachelor's in social work that she'd been working toward for the past four years. It was many hours, tears, and beers in the making. While she could have been getting a few more hours of studying in on her night off, Bella instead opted to spend a little time with Jasper and Rose,sitting on Jasper's tailgate.

"The representative from Washington has the floor," Jasper acknowledged Rose's words.

"I'm going to stay in school," Rose told her friends.

"Looks like all those high school assemblies paid off," Bella said with a smirk.

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, I'm going to take the summer, of course, but then I'm just going to push through and get my Masters," she said.

"And you guys said career student wasn't an admirable line of work," Jasper cracked.

"So, what brought this on?" Bella asked.

Rose shrugged and took a sip of her beer. There was something hidden in her expression that Bella couldn't quite put her finger on.

"I just think this is where I'm supposed to be right now," Rose replied.

"So, what are you going to do?" Bella asked.

"I think I want to be a math professor," Rose replied.

For a moment, there were no sounds except for the nature that surrounded them and the crackle of the fire. Then, both Bella and Jasper burst into laughter. Rose looked on impatiently as her two best friends mocked her future goals with their mirth.

"Fuck you both," she said, after enduring for a couple of minutes.

"Rose, have you met you?" Jasper asked, when he got himself together.

"Honey, you hate people. Especially people younger than you. You actually said that you wanted to set every incoming freshman on fire at the beginning of the year. You said those words," Bella said.

Rose sighed.

"Ok, you have a point. _But_ I can learn to deal with people. My shrink says I'm making incredible strides toward normal interpersonal reactions," Rose said.

"Is your shrink going to bail you out of jail when you punch some eighteen year old punk in the face for being an insufferable little prick? Because they are insufferable little pricks. I've wanted to bash a few heads myself," Jasper told his friend. His experiences as a TA hadn't all been that great.

"I'm good at math though. The calculations just make sense to me. But I don't want to be an accountant helping already rich pricks get richer by finding loopholes at tax time," Rose said. "I want to help people. I think I can learn to tolerate them so I can teach them some math. I can totally do that."

Rose's affirmation to both herself and her friends made Bella smile. She wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Yeah, you totally can," she told Rose.

Jasper smiled, in spite of himself, and shook his head.

"Yeah, you can make it work. But I'm going to set aside a bail fund just in case," he teased.

Rose gave him a shove.

**WIB**

After Jasper dropped Bella at home, she sat in bed with her laptop in her lap scrolling through the social work listings. The same results popped up just like every other scroll through. "Two year's experience", "Five year's experience", "Master's in Social Work", were the requirement of every job. Bella planned to get her masters, of course, but unlike her friends, going straight from undergrad to masters wasn't an option financially speaking. She wanted to volunteer, but options in Forks were limited, and a move to PA or some other bigger place wasn't possible either.

When Bella told her father what track she was going to follow when she started school, he warned her she was going to live her life broke and heartbroken. It was beginning to look like his prediction was going to come true. Regardless, she wasn't willing to give up. She started down that path because she knew there were so many people walking around full of hurt. While time and finding her people had helped Bella heal, she knew that there were people out there that needed her to help them heal. If she was able to do that, she thought that the struggle would be worth it. But that was all in the future. In the present, Bella was destined to be Fork's Wal-green's least enthusiastic employee of the month, until she had enough funds to get back to school.

She closed her laptop and sat it on the floor next to the bed. From her nightstand she grabbed her phone. It was a little after one am, but she figured that wasn't too late for a rock star. She snapped a picture of the wrapper from the Twinkies she scarfed down when she came in. _This town is so woefully lacking in late night grub that I was forced to steal my dad's twinkies. Tragedy._ She figured Edward would find some amusement in her plight. He replied only a moment later.

 _Meanwhile I could order in an epic Italian sub sandwich and jalapeno Cheetos and have them here in ten minutes should I desire. And I think I do…_

Bella smiled as she typed out her response.

 _But you're not one to brag or anything._

His next reply made her laugh out loud.

 _Us almost sexiest man alive types are quite humble._

Before she could think of a response another message popped up.

 _If you were here we could share jalapeno Cheetos._

Bella's insides suddenly felt warm. Not only did he seem to miss her, he remembered her favorite snack, a piece of throw-away information she'd mentioned in passing. She quickly typed out her reply.

 _We've reached the cheeto sharing point in the relationship? That's absolutely monumental. I feel like I should post this on fb._

Her eyes were glued to the phone as the "person is typing" indicator appeared. It took a bit longer than before for him to finish typing and Bella grew curious. She was willing to bet it was a type, erase, retype situation. When his answer did come through, the warm feeling intensified to the point that Bella was fairly certain she would melt into a pile of goo.

 _FB, Instagram, Snapchat, you can take out a billboard if you want. I'd share the world with you, sweetheart._

She was pretty sure that his comment was supposed to be taken light-heartedly, but to Bella it meant everything. Instead of replying she turned off her bedside lamp and tucked her phone under her pillow. She fell asleep with a smile on her lips and her fingers touching her electronic link to his words.

**WIB**

Edward shifted in the leather chair and tried to focus. The lawyer, Jane, was talking about the recording timeline and, as always, he had a hard time looking at her because she gave him the creeps. Her icy blue eyes always looked kind of vacant and evil. Lawyers were often referred to as leeches or bloodsuckers, hyperbolically, but in Jane's case, Edward wondered if it the description wasn't a little more literal.

"I think we can schedule the release of the first single for the beginning of September. Get it out there while the college crowd is getting back to school. Then the full album release can come at the end of the month," Jane said, checking off notes on her iPad.

Edward sighed and ran a nervous hand through his hair. The pace at which the record company wanted the album released would be grueling.

"From there, the U.S. tour would begin in November, and if the profits from the U.S. and the internet buzz indicate a European interest, we'll proceed with a tour schedule," Jane continued on.

Edward looked around at his bandmates to gauge their thoughts. Ben, their guitarist, was tapping his fingers along the edge of the glass table. Edward knew Ben was ready to tour again. Ben had wanderlust and he thrived on the road. Alec looked tired. As far as Edward knew, currently booze was Alec's vice of choice. As long as he could stay off the harder stuff, he'd make it through another tour. Lastly, he looked across the table at Garrett. Garrett's face was schooled into careful blankness. Edward could tell his gears were turning. Garrett was Edward's main concern. They hadn't had a conversation about band plans lately, but Edward sensed his friend was full of reservations.

Garrett's perceived hesitancy was making the little doubting voice in the back of Edward's head stronger. That little voice, the one that often sounded so much like his father, wondered how long they could keep up with the constant cycle of touring and recording and still produce music they loved. It wondered if he would ever get to the point where he amassed _enough_ fame and fortune. And lately, in the wake of his bandmate's upcoming nuptials and the presence of one brown-eyed, smart mouth girl, it asked if maybe something was missing that music couldn't provide.

"Take the evening to read everything over and we'll be back here tomorrow at ten am for final signatures," Jane was finishing up.

The rest of the table murmured their agreement and the meeting adjourned. Alec and Ben said their goodbyes quickly and hurried off with their paperwork. Garrett, Edward, and Alice lingered.

"That's going to be grueling," Alice commented, her eyes still on the paperwork.

"That's what I was thinking," Edward agreed.

Garrett didn't speak.

"What's up, man?" Edward asked.

Edward could tell his friend was considering his words for a moment before he spoke.

"I don't think I can do this," he finally said, quietly.

"Do what?" Alice questioned. Edward could hear the alarm in her voice.

Garrett shook his head sadly.

"Tour again," he said.

"For fuck's sake," Alice groaned.

Edward shot her an annoyed look.

"What's going on man?" he asked.

"Well…I'm gonna be a daddy," he said, with a shrug and a smile.

It took Edward a minute to process the statement. When he did, he laughed.

"Holy shit, man, congratulations," he said, rising from his seat. Garrett rose and well, and when Edward reached him, they shared a man hug.

"Congrats, Gar," Alice said, finally smiling as she walked around to join the two of them.

Garrett chuckled.

"I figured you'd have my balls," Garrett told Alice, as he gave her a squeeze.

She shrugged.

"This is important. There's a new life coming into the world. You need to be a part of that," she said with a smile. "Are you going to be available for the album or do we need to find a replacement for that as well?"

"I can do the album, just not the tour," he said.

Alice nodded.

"I'll get on the phone with Jane and let her know that we're doing modifications. Also, I'll get with the label and prep them for the tour changes," she said.

"Thanks," Garrett said, gratefully.

Edward reached out and gave his sister a squeeze. It was times like this, when she could so easily balance business and life, that he appreciated her the most.

**WIB**

That evening found Edward scrolling through tour photos on his lap top. The folder marked "Alter Tour" was filled will pictures from the first tour. He smiled looking at his twenty year old face. There were backstage party shots, hungover on the road shots, even surrounded by groupie shots, even though the band was just getting traction. At the beginning, that tour had been _everything_ to Edward. It was his crowning achievement. At least he had thought so at first. Then the tour ended and the record company wanted another record, a better record. There were fans, but aside from Alice, he still didn't feel he had proven himself to his family. So he kept working. Then the next album went platinum, and that was Edward's new crowning achievement. Then, just like with the tour, nothing changed. The industry just wanted more and he always felt like there was one more step to prove himself. Being hungry for more had never bothered him. He always felt like he had his bandmates, and even Alice, at his side feeling the same way. Today, all of that changed. It changed when he saw the look of real fulfillment of Garrett's face.

He heaved a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. His eyes drifted to his phone lying next to him. He snatched it up and fired off a text to Bella.

 _Ever thought about having kids?_

As soon as he hit the send button, he considered the implications of the message. He'd never really considered it before and he was curious if his girl had. It was simple in his mind, but he was pretty sure it wouldn't be for her. He smiled ruefully as he awaited her reply. Either it was going to be a freak out or something super snappy.

 _Are you pregnant? If so we're def taking this shit to Maury._

Edward laughed. Classic Bella.

 _You are def the baby mama._

He couldn't help but laugh again when her next reply came though.

 _Prove it_ she typed, followed by three emojis with their tongues out.

He hit the button to voice call.

"Hey, handsome, what's with the sudden interest in my reproductive plans?" she asked mildly when she answered.

"Garrett is going to have a kid," he explained. "Got me thinking about how I'd never really thought about having kids."

"I see," she replied. "I guess I'm kind of in the same boat. Haven't really pondered the whole rug rat thing."

"Garrett's gonna skip the tour this fall. Can't say I blame him. I wouldn't want to be on the road while my girl was back here birthing my spawn," he said.

"You're such a stand up guy, Edward Cullen," Bella sassed. "Wait, you guys are touring this fall?"

He sighed again. He'd forgotten to tell her. Of course he forgot to tell her.

"Yeah, sorry, I probably should have addressed that instead of just tacking it on," he apologized.

She was quiet on the other end of the line.

"Mad at me?" he asked.

"No," she said thoughtfully. "I guess it won't be much different from now. Long distance and all."

"True," he agreed. Despite the truth in her words, they felt funny to Edward. Long distance. His brow wrinkled. It felt _wrong_.

"So, we're totally going to Chili's for my college graduation," Bella remarked, making Edward realize he'd gone quiet.

"Wow, Chili's, that's special," he said with a chuckle, pushing his unease away.

"Hey, when Charlie Swan's daughter Bella celebrates, it's always special," she said. Edward could hear the grin in her voice.

He wondered how long it would be before he could see that grin again, face to face.

 **A/N** : Hello again. Welcome new comers and my usual undying love to those who continue to keep up with this fic. Sorry about the delay but with the full time job, full time kid, full time husband, and full time codependent cat we thought we didn't have quite enough stress so we're selling our house so we can build a new one. Weeeee. So, there will probably be some gaps in posting in the future while I scrub, paint, and ask my old man why we're doing this repeatedly. However, never fear abandonment, I'll always come back to you.

All the commas belong to brwneyedgrl01 because I think I'm gangster and don't need commas but she reminds me I do.

Chapter Songs: Runaway Train – Soul Asylum

Fucked My Way Up to the Top – Lana Del Rey


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The ring of the kitchen land line made Bella smile. Her dad insisted on keeping it even though they both had cell phones. The first time Rose had noticed it, she had lapsed into her passable Steve Irwin impersonation, marveling at seeing one "in the wild".

"Can you grab that?" Bella asked, her hands wrist deep in soapy water, washing dinner dishes. Her dad was still sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper and drinking his evening beer.

Charlie grunted his agreement and shuffled over.

"Swan residence," he answered with his standard gruffness. A moment later he hung up without another word.

"I think we're going to change our number," he said conversationally.

"Huh?" Bella responded, surprised. The plate she was washing dropped into the sink with a sudsy splash. "We've had the same number since...forever."

"Yeah, but I've had just about enough of these psychos calling me a "star screwer" and hanging up," her dad replied.

Bella knew the look on his face all too well. It was his _do you have something to tell me_ look.

"So, do you remember that guy I went out with that one night?" Bella asked.

Her father arched an eyebrow at her and gave her a nod that said go on.

"And when I went to California?" She received another nod. Both eyebrows were drawn up now. "Well, the guy is actually kind of famous.

Charlie rolled his eyes.

"Bella, I know who Edward Cullen is," he told her. "I'm old, sweetheart, not dead."

Bella shrugged sheepishly.

"I didn't really know what to say about it," she explained.

He nodded.

"It would have been nice to have a heads up before I had to chase some little twerp with a camera off the porch, but as much as I hate it, I don't really have a say in who you date," he said.

"Oh shit, you had to do that?" she gasped.

His eyes narrowed slightly at her cursing and she mouthed a small sorry.

"Well, I don't think they'll be back any time soon. Pretty sure he wet himself when I racked old Bessie."

Bella couldn't help but laugh. Bessie was her father's oldest shot gun.

"Sorry, Dad, I guess I just didn't think it would reach here," she said.

Her dad shrugged.

"Not something we need to worry about right now. You just worry about your big day tomorrow," he told her.

Bella smiled and nodded. Graduation day was finally upon them, the thought of it made her both happy and nervous. She turned back to the dishes to finish them up.

"Oh, and Bella?" her Dad said after a moment.

"Yeah?" she asked without turning around.

"I don't care how famous and important this guy is, if he hurts you, he's going to meet Bessie up close and personal," he told her.

Bella laughed again.

"I'll be sure to let him know, Dad," she said.

**WIB**

Bella's graduation day dawned sunny but brisk. As soon as she woke up, she pulled on a cozy hoodie and jeans and gathered her supplies. She turned the coffee pot on for her dad who hadn't gotten out of bed yet, and headed to the cemetery.

"Hey, mom," she greeted as she approached. She trailed her fingers lightly over the stone then pulled the old flowers. "Today's the big day."

The old foliage was tossed into a plastic bag and new flowers placed in the holder.

"I'm not graduating at the tip top of the class, but I'm pretty happy with a 3.8," she said as she went about her work. "Not that grades really matter when you can't find a freaking job. Well, not a real job."

She huffed a little laugh as she sprayed polish on her rag. She could picture the dirty look Mike would give her for that comment.

"I'm pretty nervous about that. Dad always said I'd be broke. But, I mean, we were always broke when I was little. We were cool. We were happy," her conversations with her mother were generally like this. Very stream of conscience. The thought of her mother's happiness needled a pain that she hadn't expected. "Well, I thought _we_ were happy. But let's not talk about all that. Today is a good day."

She capped the polish and tossed it and the rag back in her bag. She sat on the ground next to the stone and draped her arm over it. She'd give anything to be able to hug her mother today, but this was as close as she was going to get.

"Today, I embark on my future and other such shit," she said with a small chuckle. "And today, I walk across a stage in front of a couple thousand people and hope to shit I don't fall. Then we're going to Chili's and I'm getting smashed on margaritas, in front of Dad, and there's nothing he can do to stop it."

"I'm pretty sure you're proud of me in the afterlife," she said with a nod. "I think that if you were here today, you'd be right there with us getting in on the two for ones. I wish you were here."

Bella sighed.

"But don't worry, you're not the only person I'm wishing was here today. I didn't say anything to him, but I wish Edward was here. I didn't ask because I know he has stuff going on. He's about to go on tour again. Tour, Mom. How crazy is that? I'm dating someone _who goes on tour_. I don't even know how I'm going to deal with that shit. But anyway. I didn't say much about graduation because I know he's busy, but it would have been awesome to have him here today."

Bella was feeling just a smidge sorry for herself, but then a thought came to her that made her laugh again.

"Could you imagine that shit? All the sudden _Edward Cullen, lead singer of Midnight Sun Alter_ pops up at a college graduation? Pandemonium ensues," the smirk lingered on her lips. "That would be freaking nuts."

Bella tugged her phone out of her pocket to check the time. It was nearing nine.

"Well, I gotta get out of here, Mom. I love you. Make sure you watch today, ok. If nothing else, it'll be hilarious if I do trip," she said, as she pulled her backpack on. Her smile was small and just a little sad as she traced her fingers over the top of the stone before she turned to leave.

**WIB**

The guest speaker was droning on and on. If it weren't for Jasper texting random observations about folks in the crowd, Bella would probably have nodded off already. Covertly, eyeing her phone and texting back under the folds of her graduation gown was keeping her amused. Every now and then she'd catch a glimpse of Rose's head shaking before she sent out her own undercover reply. Just another instance Bella was glad her friends could always be counted on for crazy.

Just when Bella was beginning to think the speaker was going for the record for longest ass speech no one was really listening to, applause started and the Dean of the university took the podium.

"We will now announce the graduates," he declared.

"Thank, Jesus," Bella muttered, to the amusement of the girl sitting next to her.

When Rose's name was called, she yelled for her friend at the top of her lungs, and even though her inner monologue of _don't trip, don't trip, don't trip_ was all she could really hear when she crossed the stage, she knew her friends were screaming for her too. After the last name was called and the last hopes for greatness were wished, the auditorium floor turned into a swirling mass of gray robed bodies. The plan was to meet Rose and Jasper near the exit then head to Chili's just in time for happy hour. Just as she reached the door she felt a hand on her arm, stopping her. She turned to find green eyes glimmering at her over the top of sunshades.

"Nothing is sexier than a smart girl," Edward said with a grin.

**WIB**

The look on Bella's face was worth the last minute planning and packing.

"I can't believe you're here," she said, throwing her arms around him.

"I couldn't miss this," he replied, squeezing her tightly. When he let her go, he threaded his fingers through hers and gestured toward the door. "Now, I distinctly remember something about a celebration at Chili's."

Bella laughed.

"This is going to be quite the celebration," she said with a grin.

Hand in hand, with Bella guiding the way, they made their way toward the door. Edward saw Bella nod and followed her eyes toward the statuesque blonde and the mature, hipster looking guy leaning against the wall. From social media and Bella's many stories, Edward assumed they were Rose and Jasper.

As they approached, Edward heard Jasper mutter something that sounded like "I'll be damned". Rose took one look at Edward and grinned. She turned to Jasper and held out her hand.

"Pay me, Bitch," she told him.

"Shit," he cursed, and proceeded to fish his wallet out of his pocket.

"What the fuck?" Bella asked, her brow wrinkled.

Rose chuckled.

"He was convinced this was all some elaborate hoax," she said gesturing toward the couple.

"But there's pictures of us together," Bella said, shaking her head in disbelief at her friend. "All over the freaking internet."

Jasper shrugged.

"They faked a moon landing," he said defiantly.

Edward couldn't help but laugh. Bella's friends were as entertaining as she had made them sound.

"So, I guess Chili's is out?" Rose asked, arching an eyebrow.

Edward felt three sets of eyes on him. It was his turn to shrug.

"I hear they have great Margarita's," he said agreeably.

**WIB**

Charlie Swan was already tucked into a booth at the back of the restaurant when they arrived. Bella and her friends had hopped in Edward's rental with him for the drive over. Much like the way Bella had treated Edward as just another guy from the get go, her friends paid no mind to his celebrity status. There was no awkward questions about "what it's like to hang out with other famous people" or "what was the weirdest thing a fan had ever sent him". Instead, Jasper had them all in tears recounting watching a woman draw her eyebrows on with a Sharpie before the ceremony.

While Bella's friends put Edward at ease, meeting her father again was daunting. Even though he was wearing slacks and a button down, his appearance still screamed cop. Edward's track record with law enforcement wasn't exactly _pristine_. The girls slid in the big booth across from Bella's father, with Edward tucking in next to Bella. Jasper sat next to Charlie with a nonchalance that Edward wished he had. The older man's eyes immediately landed on Edward and narrowed. Edward shot a look at Bella, who pointedly buried her face behind her menu. He looked back at her father and offered his hand. Charlie was playing the protective father role Edward had seen in movies his whole life but never actually experienced. His only prom date had been a twenty-three year old stripper he'd asked out just to get under his father's skin. He hadn't realized this whole opposite of a meet cute thing was real life. He certainly never expected it to happen to him.

His palms were just starting to sweat when Charlie finally shook his hand.

"So, you're the singer Bella's dating," Charlie said, gripping a bit too tightly for Edward's liking.

"Yeah, that's me," Edward replied nodding.

Even though the shake had ended, Charlie hadn't let go of his hand. He stared at Edward hard.

"If they can't find a body, they can't prove murder, no matter how famous you are," Charlie told him.

In the movies that was always a joke. Looking in the older man's eyes, Edward wasn't so sure in this case. However, he could feel the wicked little brat next to him shaking with silent laughter. Luckily, Jasper wasn't so quiet with his chuckle. Charlie dropped Edward's hand and turned his focus to him.

"You got a real job yet?" he asked Jasper, judgement still etched on his features.

Jasper sighed.

"Still a TA, sir," he said, with just a touch of sheepishness in his voice. Clearly this was a conversation that had occurred before.

"That's what I thought," the older man replied. Edward saw just a hint of a smirk under his mustache before he lifted his menu.

"I think we need margaritas," Bella announced, suddenly willing to participate in conversation now that the grilling was over.

"Word," Rose agreed. "You get regular and I'll get strawberry."

Bella nodded excitedly and laid her menu down. He felt her hand lay lightly on his thigh. He glanced over at her to find that she wasn't even looking at him. The touch was completely uncalculated. In the past ten years he could count on one hand the number of women who had touched him in that way. He felt the smile turn up his lips.

"I totally need a –" he began, but immediately re-thought his words at Charlie's sharp look. "Blackberry tea. I hear those are good. You guys need someone to drive if you're going to be drinking."

This time no one could withhold their laughter…including Charlie.

"So, are you guys ready to order?" asked the waitress as she approached.

She took the orders as if on cruise control, until she got to Edward. He wasn't sure of the exact second she began to realize who he was, but he watched with dread in his stomach as her eyes grew wider and wider and she jotted down what he asked for.

"I think we've been made," he muttered to Bella as she walked away.

"Shit," Bella cursed with a sigh.

Edward followed the girl with his eyes. Sure enough, she was typing their order into the computer system he could see her nudging her co-worker, far less discreetly than she thought she was. As he suspected, their drink order got back to them far more quickly than normal. As she placed drinks in front of their rightful owner, through his dark lens, Edward could clearly see her eyes skating to him constantly. As she sat his drink down, she finally got up her nerve.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask…are you Edward Cullen?" she asked nervously.

For just a second he thought about lying. He could say that he wasn't, that he just looked a lot like and try to keep the focus on Bella's big day, but that was something he'd tried in the past. It never worked. He nodded at the girl curtly. Her eyes widened excitedly.

"Oh my God! I knew it! I mean, I'd know that jaw line anywhere!" she gasped.

Edward offered a tight smile then looked back at those at the table with him. Bella was looking on with mild interest, Jasper looked amused, and Rose's judgement brows were arched nearly to her hairline. He skipped gauging Bella's father. He already knew it wouldn't be good.

"Is there anything else I can do for you Mr. Cullen? Anything at all?" the waitress was somewhere between idol worship and flirting.

"Nah, we're good," he replied.

"Ok, if you need anything at all just let me know!" she said, backing away without taking her eyes off him.

"That was fascinating," Jasper remarked with a grin when the girl was out of earshot.

"That was ridiculous," Rose snapped. "Clearly, he's here with someone."

Edward looked at Bella.

"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head. "I didn't want-"

Bella shook her head with a rueful smile.

"It is what it is, Rockstar," she said.

Edward put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze as awkward silence descended upon the table.

"So, how about that weather," Jasper said with a smirk after moment.

"Almost forgot to tell you guys with all the excitement," Rose said. "One of my professors agreed to take me on as a TA for part of the summer session. So I could get a feel for it."

Bella looked confused.

"I thought you were taking the summer off?" she asked her friend.

There was something in Rose's responding smile that made Edward curious. It looked slightly secretive. Slightly hopeful. She shrugged.

"Changed my mind," she said.

Further questioning was interrupted by the return of the waitress.

"Are you ready to order Mr. Cullen?" she asked, blatantly ignoring the others.

This was going downhill, fast. As Edward glanced around the room, he could see people aiming their phones for pictures. Some covertly, some not so much.

"I think –" Edward began, uncomfortably.

"We're fine right now, sweetheart," Rose snapped. "But we'll let you know when you're needed."

"Oh," she replied, having the decency to blush. "Well, just let me know when you're ready."

"Sorry about that," Edward apologized again to everyone.

"God, that must get so fucking annoying," Rose huffed.

Charlie gave her a stern look, Edward assumed it was for her word choice. She gave him a grin that didn't look one bit apologetic.

Edward shrugged in reply.

"I'm kind of used to it, I guess," he said.

"But how do your family and friends deal with it? I mean, I've been around you for about twenty minutes and I'm already over it?" she asked.

Edward couldn't help but smile at Rose's blunt delivery. She didn't give a shit if she offended him or not. Edward liked that.

"Well, most of my friends are in the industry, and my sister is my manager," he explained. "They're used to it too."

"You're gonna get used to this shit?" Rose asked Bella, skeptically.

It was funny how a person who barely knew him could lay one of his biggest fears, as of lately, right out on the table. He watched Bella with interest.

"As long as it's worth it," Bella said with a smile and a shrug.

"I have some pills that can help with that, but if the erection lasts more than four hours, you'll need to call your doctor," piped in Jasper, with a smart ass grin.

"I do just fine without the pharmaceuticals," Edward replied with a smirk.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Charlie input gruffly.

Laughter broke out across the table; however, it didn't last long when Rose noticed the teenage girls in the booth across from them filming with their phones. She rewarded them with her middle finger thrusted in front of Edward's face.

"I've got some steaks at the house I think we could thaw out and put on the grill," Charlie offered.

The sound of a straw slurping up the last drops of a margarita next to him alerted Edward that maybe Bella wasn't quite as comfortable with the situation as she said.

"Need us to pick up anything on the way?" he asked.

**WIB**

Edward was contently spent. After an afternoon of perfectly grilled steak, laughter, and enjoying Bella in her element with her friends, they had all adjourned to their evenings. Rose had another graduation thing to get to and Jasper had to start prep work for his summer classes. Bella decided that she wanted to go to the lake, and Edward happily complied, knowing exactly what she had in mind by the way she kept slapping him on the ass every time he walked by her.

Sure enough, no sooner had he parked at the same spot as their ill-fated first attempt, Bella was dragging him to the back seat, giggling all the way. They had fun, bouncy, fumbly, sex that left them both satisfied. Touching Bella again was like coming home for Edward. He was already dreading the idea of leaving. He was pretty sure that's what prompted the words that flew out of his mouth as they sit partially dressed, tucked against each other.

"Move in with me," he said, without any segue.

Bella kind of jumped and Edward felt his heart speed up. Maybe that was just a little too much.

"Well, I knew that was good, but damn," she quipped after a moment.

In spite of his nerves, Edward chuckled.

"I miss you too much when I'm there and you're here," he told her.

She sat quiet and thoughtful for even longer this time. The seconds felt like hours to Edward.

"But, I have my job here," she said, finally. "And my friends and… other stuff."

"There's Walgreens in LA. Or you could, maybe even consider a career change. CVS maybe," he said. Bella gave him a glare. "Seriously, you're a capable woman with a new degree, you can find something there. And as far as your friends and your stuff, they're only a flight or a drive away."

"Edward," she said, shaking her head. "I don't have the means for that."

"But _I_ do," he insisted.

He understood that this would be a problem for her.

"I can't use your money, Edward. I'm not some gold digger," she told him.

"I know that. And that's why I don't mind doing for you," he said. He reached over and took her face in his hands so that she would look him in the eyes and hopefully understand. "I need you to see it this way, I want you around. I'm willing to do whatever I need to, to make that happen. If it means buying plane tickets once a damn week, so be it."

"Edward –" she hedged.

"Bella, my place is lonely now. It was great before. I loved it. It had everything I needed. Then you came and you made my pillows smell good and how much better my shower can be when you're naked in it with me. Now I need you there," he said.

She was quite again. She just sat there long enough for Edward to consider back peddling.

"Ok," she said, finally, with her little smile.

Edward blinked. He wasn't sure of what he had heard.

"Ok?" He asked.

"Yeah. Ok. I'll come stay with you in crazy town. We'll see how it works," she said.

Edward felt the grin take over his face, then he kissed her.

 **A/N:** Let's start this off with a request for a bit of understanding. I apologize for the random act of desertion but the list of things that went straight to hell is long. Near the top was the death of one of my employees and having to terminate another. It hasn't been pretty around here. But as long as that light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train I should be able to get back to more frequent posting. If you're still with me I greatly appreciate it. If you've decided to pop smoke until you see the completed noted that's cool too.

My undying love for my beta brwneyedgrl01 for the fixing and the encouragement

Chapter Songs: Float On – Modest Mouse

Tonight, Tonight – Smashing Pumpkins


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"So, I did a thing," Edward told his sister between bites.

It was a gorgeous, warm day and Edward had invited Alice to a recently opened bistro called Myers. Alice had been talking about it since it became _the spot,_ so Edward pulled a couple of strings to get them in. He could see why it was so popular among those who didn't like to play to the paparazzi. The outdoor eating area was surrounded by brick walls just high enough to block potential pictures, and if the shrimp scampi they'd enjoyed as an appetizer was any indication, lunch was going to be delicious.

Alice held up her hand in a wait gesture, downed the last few drinks of her mimosa, and then waved the waiter over.

"Can I get a refill?" She asked, lifting her empty glass. "Actually, can I just get a pitcher?"

"Really?" Edward asked with a smirk as the waiter hurried away.

"I'm sure whatever you're about to tell me will make me need a drink. I'm being prepared," she said, then waved her hand to indicate he should proceed.

Edward chuckled.

"I asked Bella to move in with me," he said, watching closely for Alice's reaction.

She didn't answer, she merely took a bite of the bread from her plate, her features remaining reactionless. Edward couldn't help but marvel at his sister's skills. She was a damned shark.

"Well?" He asked finally.

"What's your plan?" She asked, her face had yet to show any kind of emotion.

"Plan?" Edward asked. His plan was for Bella to move here. That was pretty much as far as he'd considered.

Alice rolled her eyes.

"For example, your plan is one décor step away from American Psycho. Do you plan to redecorate? You're working on the record. Everyone knows you need super silent alone time to do your writing. How do you plan to work a live-in girlfriend into your mad scientist writing schedule? What about when you go on tour? Do you plan for Bella to stay here?" Alice was smirking slightly, as she questioned things Edward hadn't even began to consider.

The waiter appeared with her pitcher of drink and quietly placed it on the table. Alice poured herself another drink, watching Edward all the while.

"Shit," he cursed.

"Classic Edward." Alice said, shaking her head then taking a sip. "You just barrel in and expect things to work out, no matter how many times you should have learned your lesson."

As usual, Alice was right. Everything she had said was valid and needed to be considered. Now that the door was open, thoughts and questions began to swirl around in his head. Was he rushing this? Sure, her visit had been amazing, but would Bella fit into his life full time? Did she really want to, or did she agree just because he rushed her into it?

He was pulled out of his thought storm by Alice placing her hand on top of his.

"You have a worry uni-brow. Stop," she said. The firm, calculating Alice from a few minutes ago was gone. Alice as wearing her big sister hat now. "I'm not telling you not to do this, Edward. If you need this girl here with you full time then I support that. I want you to be in love, I want you to be happy."

"Whoa, I never said love –" he babbled.

Alice dismissed his claim with another eye roll and hand wave.

"Do this if it makes you happy, little brother, but just be aware that it's going to take some work. And that means real world work and emotional work," she said. "You haven't had a serious girlfriend since the dad thing."

"Dad has nothing to do with this," Edward interjected sharply.

Alice's eyebrows lifted nearly to her hairline.

"Sure he doesn't," she replied.

"Can we not? I don't feel like rehashing family shit," he said, fidgeting uncomfortably.

Alice sighed. Then she turned to dig in her purse. She pulled out a card and tossed it on the table.

"What's this?" Edward asked, picking it up.

"That's an interior designer a friend of mine recently used. She was super impressed. If Bella needs to make some changes to your place, give him a call," she told him.

Edward smiled. Alice saving the day again.

"Thanks," he said, reaching for his sister's hand again.

Alice shook her head and returned the smile.

"Now, where is my gyro, I'm freaking starving," she said, looking for the waiter.

**WIB**

"Do you like my place?" Edward blurted mid-conversation with Bella later that night.

As usual, he realized he could have eased his concerns into the conversation a little more gracefully as soon as the words were out. Bella took a moment to answer, when she did he could hear the confusion in her tone.

"Well, I thought living in a place where I absolutely hated everything would be good for my character, but why do you ask?" she replied.

Edward smiled in spite of himself. Typical Bella answer.

"I was just talking to Alice today and she mentioned how…masculine my place is. Would you want to do something different with it when you get here? You can if you want. I mean, I don't want do live in Barbie's dream house, but if you'd like some more girly touches, that's cool with me," he over explained.

Bella laughed.

"I dig your place just like it is, Edward," she told him. "I dig that modern vibe. And I love the kitchen windows."

Her mention of the windows reminded him of that first time together, just as her husky tone had meant for it to. Before those memories could cause him to lead the conversation in a whole other direction, he stayed the course.

"I'm glad you like it. But I want to make sure you're comfortable. This is going to be your home," he explained.

"Are you getting nervous about this?" Bella asked.

Edward considered his words for a moment. Did he say something to make her feel ok or should he just be honest?

"Yeah," he admitted. "A little."

"You know we can scrap this idea if you want, right? We don't have to make this move. I stay here and nothing changes," she said, quietly. Edward tried to detect all the notes in her voice. There was a hint of disappointment and maybe a shade of relief.

He let the silence grow as he considered. The whole damn move seemed so much bigger now than when he'd originally asked. So many working parts and little details. His eyes wandered across the room as he thought and eventually landed on the pillow next to his. In his mind's eye, he could see Bella's hair spread across it and the sunlight making patterns on her skin.

"No, not at all. It's a great idea," he replied, his voice sounding stronger as he went on. "I just didn't realize how many details there would be to work out and I'm freaking a little."

Bella laughed.

"And you didn't even think about the most concerning aspect of this me living with you thing," she said, now her tone was back to playful teasing.

"Oh, yeah?" he replied.

"I don't shave my legs every day, Rockstar, how do you feel about cuddling up with a Wookie?" she asked.

Edward chucked.

"Could I negotiate a Wookie in a Princess Leia bikini?" he replied.

**WIB**

The palms of Bella's hands were just a little damp. The piece of paper in her hand was going to make everything official. She took a deep breath and knocked on the office door. She heard "come in" from the other side and pushed it open.

"Hey, Bella, what's going on?" Mike asked, looking up from his paperwork.

"I...uh…need to give you this," Bella said, waving the paper in her hand.

Mike gestured for her to hand it over. She placed it in his hand and waited awkwardly. This was her first job. It was a good job. Mike was a good boss. There was a part of her that didn't really want to leave.

"Well…shit," Mike said, after he finished reading the short and sweet resignation.

Bella gave him an apologetic shrug.

"Did you find something else? Did you need more hours?" Mike asked, worriedly.

"No, Mike, nothing like that. Everything is great here. But I'm moving," she explained.

"Moving?" he asked, shocked.

She hadn't given any indication this was coming, so she had expected this could go like this.

"Yeah, I'm moving in with my…uh…boyfriend," she said.

Mike's eyes widened and his smile finally resurfaced.

"Wow, like a fairy tale, moving in with your rock star prince," he said.

Bella smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, I guess so," she agreed.

"Alright, princess, in the meantime vitamins need to be stocked," he told her.

Bella nodded and headed off to one of the last battles with her arch nemesis, the pricing gun. She was hoping everyone else would take the news as well as Mike did.

**WIB**

Bella thought it was funny how quick the weekend made its appearance when you had to do some shit you didn't really want to. She thought the next two rounds of exit announcements would be the worst. Even though she knew it was a cowardly thing to do, she decided to break the news to her dad before he headed in for work.

"Hey, Dad, can I talk to you?" she asked.

He was putting some leftovers into his lunch kit. He grunted his acceptance of her request. Bella chewed on the inside of her mouth. She had been thinking about this, leaving her dad, constantly for the past few days. They didn't have any family in the area, Charlie only had his fishing buddy, Billy Black, and the guys at the station for company. She didn't love the idea of leaving him alone. She had to keep reminding herself that this wouldn't be first time her father made it on his own.

"I…I'm moving out," she blurted. She cringed at the abruptness of the words. She wondered if maybe Edward and his tendency to just throw words out there might be rubbing off on her.

Her dad stopped his movements and turned to face her. His brow was scrunched up. He studied her for a moment before he spoke.

"This about that boy?" he asked.

Bella nodded. Charlie sighed heavily then he nodded.

"I figured something like this might be coming," he said.

As was her father's style, he didn't say anything else, just held her with a steady gaze. Bella knew from past experience she didn't have the fortitude to wait out his silence.

"So, are you ok with that?" she asked.

"Am I ok with my little girl moving off to a city with one of the highest murder rates in the United States with some guy who plays music for a living?" he returned, drily.

"Well, when you put it that way," Bella said with a shrug.

"Does it really _matter_ if I'm ok with it?" he asked.

"Well, I mean, I _want_ you to be ok with it," she replied.

"Bella, I'm your father. I'm never going to be ok with you being in some dangerous situation," he said. When she opened her mouth to protest, he held up his hand for her to stop. "But I'm not stupid either, I know that I can't keep you here with me forever. You're over eighteen, Bella. I can't make life choices for you."

"Very diplomatic, Dad," Bella said with an arched eyebrow.

Her sarcasm earned her a stern look.

"I'm aware of the reality, Bella. I know you're a smart girl, a good girl. I know you'll make the right choices. But that won't stop me from worrying about you. And worrying about that boy," he said.

"What worries you about Edward?" she asked. Her dad mentioning doubts about Edward made her feel defensive, but also a little curious.

"I'm worried about the lifestyle he lives, Bella. I looked him up on the internet. He's not exactly a model citizen. And I'm worried this whole thing is moving too fast," he explained.

"It's not a thing, it's a relationship," she said, just a little sullenly. She didn't mean to be snotty, but she didn't have much else in the way of argument.

Her dad merely shook his head.

"I worry because I love you, Bella," he reminded her.

"I know, Dad. I love you too," she replied.

"Is this what you want? Is that boy what you want?" He asked.

Bella nodded.

"Yeah, it is. He is," she told him.

"Then I support your decision. But I'll still kill him if he hurts you," he dad said.

Bella heard the finality in his voice. Charlie Swan had said all he was going to say about the matter. Bella crossed the kitchen quickly and threw her arms around her father. He was surprised at first, but then he returned the hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Thanks, Dad," she said softly.

**WIB**

"You're going to need a spray tan," Rose broke the silence, kicking Bella's foot.

"She's right, you're Casper the pale ass ghost," Jasper agreed, nodding his head.

"Can't you die from the chemicals in that shit?" Bella asked with a smirk.

After her dad's reaction to her news, Bella was encouraged to continue on her announcement tour. The two other members of her life trio took the news quietly at first. Then, they proceeded to the sarcastic ribbing. It was the best case scenario, but they were only one beer in, so there was no telling how emotional it might get. As Bella watched her friends for any indication of their inner thoughts, Jasper kicked a stick into the fire and sighed.

"You sure about this? About this guy?" He asked.

"My dad asked the same thing," Bella remarked.

"Us manly protector types often consider the same things," Jasper returned drily.

Bella chuckled.

"I'm still on the fence about his ass too," Rose chimed in.

"Really?" Bella asked, surprised.

"Well, yeah. This is pretty quick and you guys are pretty different," Rose explain.

Bella shrugged. While their lifestyles were different, Bella saw tons of similarities in her in Edward. Similar tastes in music and movies. They were in general agreeable on social and political issues. They liked the same food. Surely having so much common ground was enough to overcoming being from different places.

"I guess I just don't see it," she said quietly.

Jasper started to speak but stopped when Rose shot him a sharp look.

"Then that's what matters most. If you think it's going to work, if you want it to work, then we want it to work," Rose said.

"And if he hurts you, I will fuck his world up," Jasper chimed in.

Bella could hardly hold back her skeptical laughter.

"Will you now?" She asked.

"I will totally support your dad when he fucks him up," Jasper amended with a grin.

**WIB**

"Well, you're the last person I need to break the news to," Bella said, lightly running her fingers over the familiar sun-warmed stone. "I didn't figure you would mind since, well, you know."

She sat down next to the headstone, just like she did every week. Bella sighed deeply at that thought. These weekly visits with her mom were written in her bones. Something she did know how she'd do without. She had voiced her concerns to Edward a couple of times since this plan when into action and each time, he had assured her that his means would get her back home just as often as she wanted. There was something about that idea, using his money, that made her feel a little dirty, but she thought it wouldn't take too long before she got herself established and would be able to take care of it on her own. Hopefully, she'd even be able to give back, make things better for him somehow.

"Seems like everyone is worried about how different we are. But you're supposed to work through those things, right? I mean, I know you and Dad were different, but you guys were happy. Well…kinda," Bella sighed. "I don't know. Maybe this will all blow up. But I feel like I have to take this chance."

She leaned her head against the headstone.

"Just watch out for me from out there…up there…whatever," she requested, softly. "And I'll be back to see you soon. Love you, Mom."

 **A/N:** As always much thanks going around for the reading and reviewing. Also a special thank you to everyone who offered kind words about my life stuffs. I heart you guys so much. I'd give you all a big kiss and a cupcake if I could.

Props to my lovely beta. Bless you and every single comma.

Chapter Songs: Sing Me to Sleep - Alan Walker

My Best Friend - Weezer


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Bella stared at her reflection in the full length mirror and sighed. Sure, the swimsuit fit fine, but no one would notice the flattering fit while they were being blinded by her overwhelming whiteness. Even though LA had twice the amount of sun Forks did, Bella had managed to absorb none of it in the three weeks since she'd moved there. That was due mostly to the fact that she rarely spent much time outdoors. Edward spent most of his daytime hours in the studio, so the majority of their together time was nighttime. Not that Bella minded drifting over to the nocturnal side of the spectrum, but all of that led to the current predicament. There was a fabulous LA pool party that required Edward's attendance coming up, and he wanted her to go with him. Rose's prediction had come true. She needed a freaking spray tan.

She slipped out of her swim suit and back into her leggings and t-shirt. She picked up her phone and sighed again. She'd thought finding a tanning salon would be an easy job, but after reading through hundreds of reviews claiming this place turned someone into an Oompa Loompa or that place left stripes, she knew what she needed to do. She needed to call Edward's sister. She wasn't looking forward to it.

She looked at herself in the mirror.

"Stop being a little bitch," she told her reflection.

Edward had already programed the number in her phone and told her to call Alice if she needed anything. She wasn't sure the other girl knew anything about his offer on her behalf. She _did_ know she didn't want to need anything from Alice. The discarded bikini caught her eye. She hit the call button before she could rethink it.

"This is Alice," Alice answered after the second ring.

"Uh, hi, Alice, this is Bella. Edward gave me your number in case I needed something, and I kind of need a favor," she babbled.

There was silence for long enough that Bella pulled the phone from her ear to check if they were still connected.

"That's unsurprising," Alice finally remarked just as Bella was about to ask if she was there.

"I mean, I don't want to impose. I just –" she started shaking her head at her own nerves. She knew she had no reason to feel so damned intimidated by Alice, but she did.

"No, it's fine," Alice interrupted. "Why don't you meet me for a late lunch and we can talk."

Bella flinched in surprise. She wasn't expecting a lunch invitation.

"Oh…ok," she agreed. "Where do you want to meet?"

"Guerrilla Tacos is near my office today, I'll text you the address. Grab an Uber and I'll meet you there," Alice told her.

"Sounds good," Bella replied. She'd never heard of Guerrilla Tacos, but she'd never met a taco she didn't like.

"See you then," Alice said and disconnected.

**WIB**

"This may be my favorite thing about LA," Bella said in between bites of her sweet potato taco.

Alice chuckled.

"You don't have tacos in Forks?" she asked.

"We don't have _good_ tacos," Bella replied. "And no food trucks. No need for them when you can maneuver all of downtown in ten minutes."

Alice nodded. She took a huge bite of her second quesadilla. Bella was amazed how much food she was putting away for such a small chick. She was also pretty impressed with how well their lunch was going. After getting their meals from the truck, they'd found a nearby beach to sit and eat at. There had been little talk so far, but the silences hadn't been awkward.

"So tell me," Alice said after taking a slug of her water. "What can I do for you?"

Bella swallowed her bite and looked up sheepishly.

"It's kind of dumb," she said.

"I doubt it can be as dumb as some of the shit the band has come up with," Alice replied with an arched brow.

Bella took in a big breath.

"I need a spray tan," she spit out in a rush.

Alice stared at her incredulously for a few seconds then burst into laughter.

"A spray tan?" she asked when her giggles subsided.

Bella shrugged.

"Yeah, I don't want to be an orange, and there's about five billion places around here. I figured you might have some insight where to go," she explained. She could feel her brow furrowing and her defenses rising. Was it really that silly of a question?

Alice grinned.

"I can totally recommend a tanning salon," she said shaking her head.

"Ok, why is it so hilarious that I need some advice on tanning? It's not like it's a huge market in Forks," Bella huffed.

"Oh, shit, I wasn't laughing _at_ you, Bella. I'm so sorry," Alice told her shaking her head. "I was laughing at the situation.

Bella nodded for her to go on.

"It's just that usually, when the guys need a favor, it's generally more…complicated," Alice explained. "I thought of about five hundred different things you could have needed before you said that and not one of them was as easy to help with."

"Oh," Bella said, felling appeased. Then she grinned. "What were you most worried about?"

"I guess, I was most worried you were pregnant," Alice said, with a shrug.

Bella shook her head aggressively.

"Nope, my handy little shot shuts down the baby making facilities," she said.

"Thank God, that's the last thing Edward needs right now. No offense, but I'm not even sure how he's managing this whole _relationship thing_ right now," Alice remarked.

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"Right now, with his schedule. The album, the tour, the press functions. I really don't understand how starting a relationship is even possible," she replied with a shrug.

By her matter of fact delivery, Bella knew that Alice was simply stating her opinion. That didn't take the sting from her words. Bella popped the last bite of her lunch in her mouth and chewed quietly, thinking. Sure, her time with Edward had been a little limited since she moved there, thanks to his hectic schedule, but Bella hadn't felt jilted. In fact, it didn't feel a whole lot different from when they were still doing the long distant thing. For the first time, it crossed her mind that maybe it should feel different, now that they were living together. She pushed that annoying little thought to the back of her mind just as quickly as it had jumped to the forefront.

"But on the other hand, maybe you're what he needs," Alice said, gathering up her trash. "You're like an LA palate cleanser. You're pretty much the opposite of _here_. Anyway, I'll set you up with an appointment at the salon I go to and they'll text you the information. Call if you need anything else."

"Pretty much the opposite of _here_ ," Bella whispered out loud to herself as she watched Alice walk away in her fashionable outfit and high heels.

She suddenly felt very alone.

**WIB**

Edward couldn't sleep. Partly, he was still too keyed up from the recording session; it had been another night where everyone was vibing and the words and the music all seemed to make sense. The other reason sleep was alluding him was his worry over the girl lying next to him. Bella was tossing and turning again. She even whimpered just a little here and there. He reached a over and smoothed a stray lock of hair off of her forehead. She seemed to calm a bit with his touch, but he knew it wouldn't last long. Her sleep had been rocky all week. Edward was pretty sure it had something to do with her new job.

Edward had told Bella that he was more than willing to take care of things until she found exactly what she wanted, but after the party at Carmen's, things had changed. That party had been an eye opener for both of them. He remembered how he laughed when he came home to find her naked, in front of the full length mirror, examining herself.

"This is weird," she told him, meeting his eyes in the mirror.

"There's lots of words I use to described a naked girl in my bedroom, weird isn't one of them," he said with a smile.

"I'm brown. I've never been brown. I've been various shades of white and red, but never brown," she said, her nose scrunched up adorably.

"Well, I think you look hot, and if we didn't have to get to the party, I'd show you how much I like that shade on you," he told her with a smirk.

This finally got the smile he'd been wanting to see.

The party was action packed with important players in the music scene and celebrities, but to Edward, none of the starlets or pop princesses compared to Bella in her simple white bikini and red kimono style cover-up. He could tell she felt a little out of place. She wasn't saying much and she kept close to his side. Despite that, she seemed to be having an ok time, until she stepped away to go to the bathroom. When she came back, her brow was furrowed and she was twisting the edges of her cover-up in her hands.

"You ok?" he asked, planting a kiss on the top of her head when she tucked herself back into his side.

"I..yeah… I don't know. Maybe," she babbled, shaking her head.

He ended the conversation he'd been having with an entertainment lawyer with a nod and escorted Bella over to a bank of Adirondack chairs. He sat and pulled her down with him.

"Tell me," he said, quietly.

"It's just…saw some shit I didn't expect to see," she said, shaking her head again.

"What'd you see? Did someone do something to you?" Edward asked, his heart beginning to pound.

"No, nothing like that," Bella told him. "I went to the bathroom, and when I stepped inside, these girls were in there doing lines off the counter. Just, bam, out in the open."

Edward's worry melted into amusement.

"That's what has you all worked up? Some folks snorting some shit?" he asked.

"Well, that, and when I walked out I took a wrong turn, ended up in the kitchen. This girl," Bella paused, trying to find the right words. Again, Edward felt his pulse pick up. "Some guy had her pressed up against the wall and had his hand in her swimsuit. She had this look on her face like she totally wasn't into it. Like she wanted to be anywhere else in the whole fucking world. So I go to take a step toward them, to say something. I just wanted to get her out of there. And she shakes her head at me. I don't know, I just feel like something fucked up was going on."

Edward, the guy who made his living with his words, had no idea what to say. The picture Bella had just painted was a familiar one. Edward had witnessed his fair share of girls at parties like this, backstage at shows, and even in cushy studio offices doing things they didn't really want to, thinking it would get them ahead. It was a dirty part of his world, but just like the lines on the bathroom counter, it wasn't something that would go away. Edward sighed.

"You want to get out of here?" he asked.

Bella had nodded and looked grateful. He took her home and ordered pizza. They lounged on the couch for the rest of the evening, binge watching The Flash and stuffing their faces.

"I'm sorry about the party," Bella said softly, before they climbed in bed.

"I'm sorry you saw some shit you didn't want to see," he replied. "But you know those things happen all the time right? You understand that's part of this right?"

Again his words didn't seem to be really expressing what he was trying to say, but Bella nodded.

"You gonna be ok?" he asked. Under sheets and feather down comforter, he pulled her close to him.

"Yeah, I'll be ok," she assured him.

But that weekend, she'd flown home. Edward had thought it would be a while longer before she made the trip to Forks, it had only been a month. She was gone for four days, and even though they talked and facetimed like before, there was a nagging little worry deep in the pit of Edward's stomach that him and his life was too much for her, and she wouldn't be coming back. When she showed up at the studio to surprise him, he immediately ended the session and took her home. He took his time stripping her down and kissing every inch of her skin. He made he come over and over. Deep in his mind and in his heart, he hoped that if he made her feel better than anyone else ever did, he'd be able to keep her. Everything was back to normal for a few days, then she started the job.

Volunteering at a women's shelter would look great on resumes she submitted, she explained. Edward was fine with her doing any job that made her happy. But as much as she tried to appear unaffected by the people she was working with, Edward knew the truth because he slept next to her at night and he felt the tossing and the turning. He studied her face every day and saw how often her brow furrowed and how there were bag forming under her eyes. He felt like her essence was slowly being drained, and he didn't know what to do to fix it.

 **A/N:** Yall. THIS IS OFFICIALLY MY MOST REVIEWED STORY! thanks to all my amazing readers. Its just so cool to me that you keep clicking those buttons to read my words and give me feedback on them. Love you guys big!

Sorry about the delay with this chap, all is well in BNPworld, just a slight e-mail hiccup with the chap after my wonderful beta fixed it up for me. Stupid e-mail, eating my very important messages.

Chapter Songs: Bare – Wildes

Like a Stone – Audioslave (RIP Chris Cornell, another voice of my childhood is silenced)


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Bella smiled as she clipped the clothes pin on the handmade quilt she'd just hung over the line. It was another bright sunny day, and she figured the quilts would have no problem drying before she left.

"Those are nice," remarked a familiar male voice behind her.

Bella nodded her agreement enthusiastically as she turned to face Officer Riley.

"The lady that donated them said they each took about a month to make," Bella told him. "She probably could have sold them for hella expensive, but she donated them instead, isn't that amazing?"

Riley nodded.

"It's weird that doing what I do and coming here, I see some of the best people in the world, and some of the worst," he said. "It changes your whole perspective on life."

Bella's only reply was a small, sad half-smile. It occurred to her again that Officer Riley and Jasper were the same age. That little fact was always a shock to her system. Jasper still didn't have his shit together. He was an overgrown, overeducated man-child. Officer Riley's job had aged him.

"So how are things today?" he asked

Officer Riley visited the shelter at least twice a week. In the time that Bella had been working there, she had experienced harassing phone calls and one tense visit from the significant other of one of the women who sought shelter there. While the nondescript, multi-locked door did well to keep everyone inside safe, Bella was happy to have the police presence.

"Calm," Bella told him. "There is a lady here named Charlotte. No trouble at all. She's just in the bunkroom sleeping."

Officer Riley nodded.

"I'm on until six. Just give me a call if you need anything," he told her.

Bella agreed and waved goodbye as the officer headed back through the building. It only took her a few more minutes to get the last quilt across the line. She took one more minute to enjoy the sunshine before she picked up the basket and headed inside. Much to her surprise she found Charlotte sitting in the common area. She didn't say anything, but she did smile encouragingly at the other lady. The engaging part was still hard for Bella, she was terrified that she might accidentally say or do something that might cause these broken women more pain. Angela, her boss, ensured her that those skills would come with time.

Charlotte attempted to return the pleasantry but the gesture fell short due to the bruises along the side of her face that clearly made her smile painful. Bella lingered, trying to think of something to say, but before she could, Charlotte sighed. She nodded to the gossip magazine across her lap. The cover was emblazoned with the face of some new starlet who was suddenly turning into a bad girl.

"I thought that was going to be me," Charlotte said, she was looking up at Bella, but also through her. Her voice was barely a whisper. Bella wasn't sure if that was because of emotion or the fingerprints around her throat. "I came to LA thinking I'd be the next Julia Roberts. Stupid, naïve seventeen year old girl from bum-fucked Texas."

She huffed a cynical laugh. Shaking her head, she looked down at the magazine again. Bella didn't know if Charlotte had more to say but her gut told her she did. She quietly put the clothes basket down and moved to sit in the arm chair adjacent to the couch. A moment or two passed before Charlotte spoke again.

"Pete was gorgeous when I met him, all pouty lips and piercings. The lead singer in a punk band. They were going on tour," this time her laugh was sharp and angry. It came out so loud and strong that she winced and pressed her fingers to her throat and swallowed hard. "They never even left the state."

Bella wanted to say fuck him. Fuck Pete for doing this to you. Fuck him for selling you on his shitty dream and taking advantage of your innocence.

"I'm not stupid," Charlotte said suddenly, looking at Bella sharply. Bella shook her head in protest but Charlotte went on. "I know that's what everyone thinks. This dumb bitch should have just walked away. Maybe they're right. Maybe I'm a fucking idiot. But he just got in my head. Slowly but surely. Like the first year was great. He was just drinking and smoking and we got along so good. Then he started the coke. And I stopped going back to see my family because Pete needed me here."

She shrugged. The shrug said a lot. It told Bella how confused the woman was by how wrong her life had went. How she wanted to shrug off everything that had happened and move on. But then the tears started streaming down her face, and that told the other side of the story. Every tear marked pain, regret, and exhaustion down her cheeks.

"I haven't called my mom yet," Charlotte said, swallowing hard again. "I want to. I want to go home. Never thought I'd call that shithole home, but that's all I want to do right now. I just want to go sit on my parent's front porch and watch fucking tractors drive by. Fuck L.A. It eats people. It eats every decent thing about them."

It was Bella's turn to swallow hard. Despite the vast difference in their situations, Bella often had very similar thoughts when out and about with Edward. In the crowds of industry affiliates that surrounded him, Bella saw very little real decency and innocence. On one hand it proved to her that Edward was an amazing man to be surrounded by that and still be such a good person. On the other it made Bella realize just how naïve she had been when she moved here, and that made her just a little bit harder.

"Fuck, I'm tried again," Charlotte said. Then she smiled. "I forgot how awesome it is to get good sleep. Sleep where you're not worried about who or what might be coming through the door."

She stood and tossed the magazine back on the table. As she passed by Bella on her way out the door she stopped and squeezed her arm.

"Thank you," she said.

"I didn't do anything," Bella said, with an apologetic shrug.

"You listened. And you didn't judge," Charlotte told her.

Bella smiled back and Charlotte headed out of the room. As the building settled back into silence, Bella went back to the desk and sat down. There was a message on her phone from Edward. A snippet of the lyrics he was working on. Bella wondered briefly if Pete had written lyrics for Charlotte.

**WIB**

Bella's snap came as a surprise because Edward hadn't even glanced at the time in hours. He had no idea it was after ten. In light of that information, it wasn't surprising that Bella was sending him pictures of her making silly faces, snuggled in bed, saying goodnight. Even though seeing his girl climbing into bed without him wasn't surprising, it was still a little disappointing. Their schedules were so opposite lately that it seemed like he never got to climb in bed with her while she was still awake. Usually he was crawling in, curling around out cold Bella. He had started the night promising himself he'd knock off early and get home to his girl. As usual, he got caught up with the guys. He sighed. His train of thought had pretty much sapped anything that was left of his creative energy.

"Time to call it a night," he told his bandmates.

Garrett finally smiled for the first time that night. If being away from home was weighing on Edward, it was weighing doubly on Garrett. His friend got his shit together and exited the studio so quickly his ass might have been on fire.

"Dude, let's hit Reverb," Alec said to Edward. He had finished wiping down his kit and was looking at his phone. "Some of my boys are there, it's popping tonight."

"Man –" Edward began. He had every intention of begging off.

"No, no fucking way, you always bail these days. Come the fuck out with your boys and have some fun," Alec said holding up his hand firmly. "I'm serious, Edward, I'm gonna go take a piss and you're gonna get your shit together. We're gonna go and get fucked up like good rockstars."

Edward couldn't help but chuckle as Alec left the room.

"Seriously, come with," Ben finally chimed in.

"You're going?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, somebody's gotta keep that fucker out of trouble," he replied, jerking a thumb in the direction Alec had went.

"He on again?" Edward asked. Usually he had a pretty good idea what was going on with his bandmates, including how close Alec was to going off the edge. There was just so much going on in his life lately.

"I don't think so, hard to tell though. It'd be nice to have another set of eyes on him though," Ben told him.

Edward nodded. He sent a text to Bella telling her he was going out with the guys for a bit and that she shouldn't worry if she happened to wake up and he wasn't there. She didn't answer.

**WIB**

Edward poured a slug of Grey Goose over ice and surveyed the club with mild interest. As Alec had promised, the club was packed. Even the VIP was fairly crowded, but the plush round booth kept their experience fairly private.

"Oh, fuck, that's Summer Rain," Alec said excitedly, pulling Edward away from his examination of the club.

Edward responded with a turned hand and a curious look to indicate he had no idea who that was.

Alec rolled his eyes. Ben chuckled.

"Seriously, dude? Summer. Rain. Pretty much the biggest name in porn right now," he explain.

Edward shrugged again.

"I swear to God, you've turned into a middle aged suburbanite. She's the next Sasha Grey," Alec told him.

"Porn queen. Got it," Edward said, raising his glass in a mock toast.

Suddenly, Alec's face lit up.

"She could be in Midnight Call!" he exclaimed. "The girl for the video. She's going mainstream. It'd be perfect for her."

Edward furrowed his brow. Midnight Call was to be the second release off the new album. It was a fun, dirty rock tune reminiscent of the 1980's rockers. While Edward wasn't as excited as Alec about working with a porn star, it seemed she would be a good fit for the role. He looked at Ben and cocked his head to the side questioningly. Ben nodded.

"I'm going to talk to her," Alec said, after seeing his bandmates agreement. He jumped up so quick that some of his drink sloshed onto the table.

"This should be interesting," Ben remarked, sounding amused as Edward attempted to mop up spilled alcohol with tiny bar napkins.

The two of them watched as Alec approached the dark haired girl with gigantic boobs nearly bulging out the top of her dress. Watching his hand gestures and constantly running mouth, Edward could tell Alec was on a roll. At first, she only seemed mildly interested, but then Alec gestured over to the table and an uncomfortable feeling started in the pit of his stomach when her body language changed. Her interest maxed out. Then they started toward the table, Alec following behind the girl with his hand on the small of her back.

"Fuck," Edward, cursed softly.

"Here we go," Ben groaned, taking a long drink from his glass.

"Hi," she said, immediately sliding into the booth next to Edward when they reached the table. Alec slid in on the other side of her, making the quarters incredibly tight. "I'm Summer, it's so great to meet you!"

She squeezed Edward's shoulder and he felt her massive breast pressing against him as she reached across him to give Ben a dainty hand shake. Over the smells of spilled alcohol and fog machine, Edward could smell her overly sweet perfume.

"So, Alec says you guys want me," she said with a wicked smile. Edward's uncomfortable feeling grew as she stared directly at him.

"She says she has some availability," Alec said, encouragingly.

"That's great," Edward said, agreeably. Despite his discomfort, he knew that her audience could bring them fans they hadn't had previously.

"But were not really the ones who make that call, we can get you our agent's info," Ben explained. Edward understood what Ben was doing. He didn't want Alec promising this girl something that they didn't have the power to do. It was a smart call.

"I'm sure we can work something out," she said with a shrug. "I'd love a chance with to get with you though. Seems like a solid move."

Edward picked his drink up and took another sip.

"Can I have a drink?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer she went in for a sip. Instead of brining the glass to her, she leaned in close to it, invading Edward's space. Every inch of him wanted to cringe away from her and her overpoweringly sweet smell. It took every bit of his Alice-sanctioned training to remain neutral. Before she backed away she licked her lips. "Yum."

Edward nodded awkwardly, pressing his lips into a line.

"So, you're an Alter fan?" he asked.

She nodded, emphatically.

"Totally," she said. "I listen to "My Bed" all the time before scenes. Totally gets me in the mood. Your voice on that one goes straight to my vagina."

Next to him Ben laughed so hard he couldn't hold on to his drink. Edward noticed some of the drink splatter on his arm.

"Ok, gonna run to the bathroom," he said, pushing against Ben's shoulder so that his friend, who was now coughing up his lung, would get up and let him out of the booth. At least Edward thought he was coughing, he could have been laughing too. As Edward slid after Ben out of the booth, Summer caught his hand.

"Hurry back," she said with another smile.

Edward tried to smile back, but he was sure he probably just looked like he was in pain.

"Will do," he assured.

After making his way across the crowded club, dodging looks of recognition. In the bathroom he splashed cold water on his face. He really didn't give a shit about the cranberry juice on his sleeve. In fact, he was kind of grateful for it. He stared into the mirror for a moment. He looked tired. It was beyond time to call it a night. He shot a quick text to Ben.

 _I'm fucking out of here. Have fun with the pornstar._

 _You're seriously leaving me here with this bullshit?_

 _Yes. Very much yes._

 _Fuck you._

 _Fuck you back. Text me tomorrow and let me know you guys lived._

Ben answered with a thumbs up emoji. Edward made his way to door and out to the street. He did his best to ignore the flashing lights of the cameras on his way.

A/N: And we're back. Kinda. We sold our house and since were gluttons for punishment we're going to build another. So sorry about the delay and future delays but I my monster has to have a roof over his head. Thanks for sticking with me. You guys rock my socks.

Chapter Songs: Porn Star Dancing – My Darkest Days

Love the Way You Lie – Eminmen Ft Rihanna


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N** : My super awesome beta is a little busy being super awesome right now and I'm anxious to get this show back on the road now that I've got it rolling. What does that mean? Errors. Probably a shitton of them. When the polished copy gets back to me I'll switch them out, but in the meantime here's the next chapter.

"Soooooo, wanna tell me what's going on?" Rose asked as soon as Bella answered the phone.

It had been an unusually busy day around the shelter with a new lady moving into the residence and Bella hadn't had time to check her phone. By the time she pulled it out of the desk drawer she had seven missed calls. Five from Rose and two from Edward.

"Well, I'm having a freaking terrible hair day and I spilled half of my coffee down my shirt this morning," Bella replied.

"Wait, you haven't seen them?" Rose demanded.

In the background Bella could here Jasper saying something about motor-boating.

"Clearly, I haven't," Beall said, her brow furrowing.

"Put me on speaker and pull up TMZ," Rose told her.

Bella's stomach immediately dropped. Fucking TMZ. She did as her friend instructed, she had no question the third "article" what Rose was referencing. There were pictures of Edward. Edward and an enormous set of boobs. The text told of his wild all-nighter with the princess of porn.

"Well," Bella muttered, furrowing her brow.

"Well, did he motor-boat those big bastards or not?" Jasper demanded impatiently.

Bella couldn't help it, she completely lost her shit. She wasn't sure how her friends were reacting to her reaction, she couldn't hear shit over the sound of her own laughter.

"Jesus, these fucking vultures," she said shaking her head when she finally got a hold of herself.

"Ok, so this is bullshit?" Rose asked.

"Dude," Bella replied. "Look at his face. He looks like he wants to chew his arm off just to get her off it."

"True," Rose agreed.

"Also, he was home by like, one, so "all-nighter" is drastically overstated," Bella went on.

"So, there was no three way?" Jasper piped in again.

"No, Grandpa, no need to double up on your blood pressure med," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"So, you're one hundred percent sure about this?" Rose asked. Bella could hear the concern in her voice.

"One hundred and ten percent," Bella told her. "In fact, he called earlier so I probably need to call him back."

"Ok," Rose replied. "Call lover boy and make sure he's keeping it in his pants. Oh, and maybe come home soon?"

Bella's smile turned a little wistful. Clearly her friends were missing her too.

"Soon, I promise," she said, before she disconnected.

Bella stared at the computer screen. She looked closely. We're the people who wrote these articles really convinced that the look on his face was the look of a man enjoying himself? He looked so uncomfortable. Did the world see that as aloof and sexy? It was so hard to reconcile the Edward the world knew with the Edward she knew. Then a tiny, unwanted thought appeared. What if she was wrong? What if the bloggers… the world saw the right Edward and what she saw was false. That uneasy feeling returned to her stomach. She tapped the button on her phone and seconds later Edward's voice came over the line.

"Bella! I've been calling," he said.

Even though he sounded as anxious as she felt, Bella couldn't help herself.

"Yeah, I had an appointment with a plastic surgeon today. He said that I can safely go up to an F cup without any other procedures but if I want the want the L I'll have to have small steel implants embedded along my spine. What do you think? Should I become the marvelous metal woman?" She asked.

The line was suddenly so quiet she could hear the sounds of outside traffic on his end of the line.

"Uh," he hedged.

Bella grinned. She was glad they were having this conversation over the phone; she never would have been able to keep a straight face.

"I mean, I gotta keep myself competitive right?" She prodded. That little voice was still there worrying away, asking what was taking him so long to make things right, to tell her she had nothing to worry about.

"Bella, you've got to know nothing happened. I mean those gossip rags are all bullshit," he sputtered.

Bella laughed and her stomach unknotted a little.

"Babe, I know," she told him. Because, logically she did know. It was just that stupid website making her doubt things.

"Wait. What?" he asked.

"I'm just trolling you," she told him.

The sigh of relief he heaved sounded like it came from the tips of his toes.

"You devil woman," he said. "I'm guessing someone alerted you to the fuckery?"

"Rose and Jasper. Jasper seems to be very disappointed that there wasn't a three-way," she said.

"I mean if you're into that kind of thing I'd rather someone who's not an expert in the field," he cracked.

"Is that really what you're looking for?" she asked, dryly. It was more of a joke than anything but Bella wasn't sure it came out quite like she intended.

Edward was quiet for a moment.

"You are exactly what I'm looking for," he said quietly. "Please don't let this bullshit get in your head, Bella."

Despite her jokes and snark, he seemed to know. Her rattled nerves calmed.

"I'm glad you found me," she told him.

**WIB**

"So no more porn star?" Rose asked from the computer screen.

"Nope, Tits McGee is all booked up with gang bangs and such so she won't have time to do the video they wanted her for," Bella replied. She was idly rolling back and forth in the desk chair as she chatted. It was her second night shift at the shelter. One of the full time staff that usually worked nights was sick and since Edward was working Bella didn't mind picking up the extra shifts. Angela didn't mind if she Skyped as long as she was doing her checks and monitoring.

It had been two weeks since Porngate and the whole debacle had gone as swiftly as it came. Between everyone involved blatantly ignoring the article and there being nothing else to go on there was no fuel for the fire.

"So everything is perfect and your back to being Alice in rockstar Wonderland?"

Bella laughed. The Alice in Wonderland analogy was more apt than her friend would guess.

"That's one way to put it," she said with a shrug. "But, yeah, Edward and I are good. Not so sure about Wonderland though."

Rose waited patiently while Bella found her words.

"I still don't feel like I fit here. Except for with Edward. And here at work," she said.

"You feel like you fit in at a Women's Shelter?" Rose asked with an arched brow.

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Not like that. I just feel like I have a place here. I'm doing _something,"_ she explained.

Rose nodded.

"I takes time, B," Rose said. "But whenever you wanna leave the tea party you know where home is."

Bella smiled.

"I know," she said, then something behind Rose, on her mirror, caught her eye. "Hey, who's in that picture?"

What appeared to be a tiny Polaroid of a guy's face was tucked into the mirror frame.

"Uh…" Rose hedged.

"Rosalie King," Bella said sternly.

"Jesus, calm your tits. It's just this guy," Rose said. The blush that lit her cheeks said a lot more than that.

"A guy?" Bella asked.

To say she was shocked was an understatement. Rose didn't date. Ever.

"Well, kind of. He wants to be a guy… or my guy… or something," Rose huffed out a sigh.

Leave it to Rose to make being courted sound like an inconvenience.

"And how do you feel about this guy?" Bella asked.

Rose shot her a sour look.

"You sound like my therapist," she said.

Bella laughed. She waved her hand to let Rose know she was surrendering the line of questioning.

"Fine, you tell me about the mystery guy when you feel like it," she told her friend.

Rose smiled.

"Thanks, B," she said.

**WIB**

Edward watched as the digital numbers clicked by. He would prefer to be running outside where he could feel the sun on his face but he settled for the treadmill in front of the huge window. He'd discovered running calmed him when he was in high school. When his dad was harping on him he could hit the trails in the national park near his house and run until nothing was left in his mind other than the burn of his lungs and muscles. He had sacrificed the out-door part of the run to his job. All it took was a few paparazzi shots of him in gym shorts to surface. He didn't like to be photographed in shorts. There wasn't a work-out program on earth that could bulk up his chicken legs.

Other than the sound of his footfalls on the machine, the house was quiet. Bella was already gone for the day. Although, there hadn't been much in the way of sound when she was home. Earlier that week his girl had returned from a trip to Forks. She left Thursday afternoon and when the Uber dropped her back at the doorstep on Sunday she'd seemed distracted and distant. It was Wednesday and to Edward's count they had passed maybe a hundred words between them and only a hand full of text messages. Sure, they'd both been working their usual fucked up schedules but something didn't feel right.

When the counter clicked over to sixty, Edward stopped the machine. If an hour run didn't stop the shit whirling around in his brain it was unlikely that the chaos was going to stop at all. He padded down the hall to the bathroom. Surely, there wasn't something wrong between him and Bella. _He_ didn't feel like anything was wrong. In fact he still felt like this was the most right relationship he'd ever been in. Maybe something was wrong back home. Maybe with her dad. But why wouldn't she talk to him if there was something on her mind?

He slipped out of his gym shorts and stood in front of his sink. In the mirror he saw black smudges under his eyes. It was due partly to the stress of putting the final touches on the album but also partly to the hours he'd laid in bed the past couple of nights listening to her breath. A couple of times he had even gently smoothed her brow in her sleep; while she was quiet during her waking hours, her sleep was more expressive. He thought it was a good sign that she always relaxed with his touch.

He tugged open the mirror and just stared at the cluttered shelved for a moment. After a short consideration he grabbed the little orange bottle and popped the cap off. The white pill was bitter on his tongue until he could wash it down with a drink of water. As usual it didn't take long for his edginess to float away. Under the shower spray he thought about how he could pull Bella out of her silence. Get to the bottom of what was bothering her. Or maybe….maybe it wasn't a big deal and he could just let it go. As more prescription strength calm washed over him, the more he thought that might be the best idea.

**WIB**

"The last weekend in August will be the release party. That'll be at Marcus' place in Santa Monica," Alice said, tapping her pen against the list of items in front of her. "Then you have two weeks to get your shit together for the opener in New York."

She looked pointedly at Alec who was looking a bit ghastly and pale. He wasn't sweating or nodding off so Edward was comfortable assuming that it was just a run of mill hang over. He would have to pay closer attention to that when they got on the road, especially since Garrett wouldn't be around to co-parent this time. Ben was usually too wrapped up in his own head to notice when Alec as stumbling down the wrong path and Garret's replacement, Seth, was just some guy filling in.

"After New York, there's Boston, North Caroline, and I think a couple of others on the East Coast. I'll have the finalized schedule to you by the end of the week. As always, if there needs to be changes to things you absolutely cannot abide by, let me know" she went on.

Edward smirked. She only said that shit for show. He'd once asked if maybe they could change one show date on a tour so that he wouldn't have to play on his birthday. His sister had arched one eyebrow and asked him if he was going to have a power ranger birthday party and bust a piñata. He hadn't made any tour change requests since then. A glance around the table told him his bandmates also understood her offer for what it was. Even the new guy.

Just as soon as the memory flickered from his mind a thought replaced it. He rolled it over in his head as Alice covered a few more points. By the time she told the group that was all she had for them, effectively adjourning the meeting, he had decided to go for it. He didn't get up and exit when the rest of the guys did. Alice was tucking papers away in her briefcase.

"So what if I wanted to make one little adjustment to the tour?" he asked.

"If the press gets a hold of it they'll make you out to be a diva," Alice said without looking up from her organizing.

"Wait…what?" Edward asked, confused.

"You'll need your own bus. If you're going to bring Bella along you'll need your own bus. I won't allow you to subject her to being crammed on a tour bus with a bunch of dudes. Just having your room isn't enough. You guys turn into animals when you tour," she told him wrinkling her nose in disgust. "The second rental would come out of your take and if the media finds out about it there's a good chance they'll brand you a diva. Or worse they'll assume Bella is pregnant and that's why she's on tour with you."

Alice looked at him. She had her poker face on. Edward couldn't tell what her thoughts really were on the matter.

"I really don't give a shit about my image," he said, thoughtfully.

"So, I'm aware," Alice said dryly.

Edward rolled his eyes at her constant state of put-out-ness.

"Do you really think they'd find out she was on the tour with us?" he asked. As always Bella was his concern.

Alice shrugged.

"Probably. They're vultures," she said. "But Edward, if this is where your life is going you need to figure this shit out."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"If Bella is going to be a part of your life you need to figure out how she fits in with your career. You do understand that there's a good chance that she may not want any piece of this." Alice told him.

"But she knows who I am. She has to know that being with me means being a part of this," he replied, his brow wrinkling.

"No," Alice said, shaking her head. "She may not know that at all, Edward. We've being doing this for ten years. Bella hasn't. Up until a few months ago she was just a regular girl leading a normal life. She has no idea what a tour is like. She has no idea what this business is like."

Alice's words hit him like a kick in the balls. She was right. A tour could be hectic and hard. The road could be lonely and unforgiving. That was actually one of the reasons he wanted Bella with him so badly. When he considered having her with him he hadn't really thought about how it might affect her. He sighed heavily.

"You're right," he told Alice. "Let's table this for now. I need to talk to Bella."

Alice pursed her lips but only nodded. Edward knew there was more she wanted to say but she held the words in. They both finished gathering their things and headed out the door. As they reached the glass double doors of the studio Alice reached out hand squeezed his arm.

"Edward," she said his name. There was worry on her face.

"What is it, Allie?" he asked, cocking his head curiously.

"Just take it easy with this, ok?" she said.

"With the tour?" he asked.

"With everything. With Bella. The tour. Life. Just take it easy," she told him.

Edward smiled.

"Of course," he assured her.

Alice gave his arm a squeeze and headed to her car.

He wasn't so sure what his sister was worried about, but it left an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

 **A/N** : Clearly there's a lot I should say but I'll keep it as short as possible. Depression is a dick and it robs you of the things you love when you're not looking. It took my words for a while but between a come to Jesus from my girls and some meds from my doc I'm pretty ok again. If you're battling, keep up the good fight.

Chapter Songs: Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby – Cigarettes After Sex

Breakfast After Ten – Blue October


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** Still rolling without my Beta at the moment, so prepare for misspellings, usage errors, and general grammar fuckery. My bad. Also, prepare yourself for some heavy stuff.

Chapter 17

"You're looking awful emo tonight Mr. Cullen," Bella told him, with a smile when she entered the bedroom.

He returned the smile as their eyes met in the mirror. He straightened his red skinny tie and shrugged.

"I'm feeling retro," he said.

While his black button down, artfully distressed black skinny jeans and tie did recall the heyday of My Chemical Romance and the like, he felt good about the look. He also felt good about the night. It was release party night. The album was finished and it was worth every long night and every headache. By all accounts it was their best album to date. Edward knew it was due in no small part to the girl in the mirror. He had done some of his best writing for this album and all the words came because of Bella. He turned and reached for her.

"Thank you," he whispered and nuzzled her neck.

He could hear the smile on her lips.

"For what?" she asked.

"For being here," he said.

Her arms circled around him.

"Nowhere else I'd rather be, Rockstar," she told him.

**WIB**

Next to him on the back seat of the town car Bella was snapping silly faces, sending them to Rose and Jasper. Edward chuckled. Despite the ridiculous faces she was pulling she still managed to look like the perfect rock girlfriend in her leather leggings and liquid gold top. Her hair was piled up high, exposing her delicate neck and her makeup was dark and dramatic. Like she was exposing her inner vixen. Looking at her when she looked like that gave Edward another reason to hope they could escape the party early.

Bella tossed her phone into her lap and looked over at him. She smiled, going from vixen to girl next door again, and placed her hand on top of his. As usual, words came out of his mouth before he really thought them through.

"You should come on the tour with us," he said.

Bella blinked.

"Wait. What?" she asked.

Edward blew out a breath. That wasn't exactly how he wanted to broach the subject but now it was out.

"I was talking to Alice about it and I think it would be awesome to have you on tour with us," he said.

Bella's brow furrowed.

"You were talking to Alice about it," she repeated.

"Yeah, there's some accommodation things we would have to work out but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work," he told her.

"Edward, I have a job," she said shaking her head.

Edward paused.

"Maybe they'd keep a spot for you?" He suggested. He hadn't considered her job would be an issue. He didn't think she'd choose a part time job at a shelter over the opportunity to go on world tour.

Bella shrugged, there was uncertainty evident in her expression.

"I don't know," she said, her voice trailing off.

Edward could tell there was more she wasn't saying.

"What else are you worried about?" he asked.

"It's not that I'm worried exactly," she said. "It's just –"

Before she could finish vocalizing her thought the car came to a stop.

"We're here, Mr. Cullen," the driver said.

Edward huffed out an annoyed breath. Bella squeezed his hand.

"We can talk later," she assured him.

He hated leaving things up in the air like that. He wanted to know what was causing her hesitation. He really wanted to know he could count on her being with him. He glanced at the Santa Monica palace looming in front of them. He could see people mingling through the sparkly windows. He knew he needed to get in there and get the party started.

"After the party?" he asked, turning his attention back to his girl.

Bella chuckled.

"Let's think more like tomorrow morning," she said pointedly.

Edward smiled back. The sound of her laugh did so much to quell his worries. And, as usual, she was right.

"Good call," he agreed, squeezing her hand this time.

"Let's go party, Rockstar," she told him.

He didn't let go of her hand as they left the car and approached their evening.

**WIB**

Bella was beginning to wonder if she had fallen into some alternate reality where American Psycho wasn't one of the most epic movies ever. She was led to ponder this theory by the two men she was witnessing, she thought they were agents but she wasn't sure, have an intense discussion about the colors of their business cards without a hint of irony. She was so amazed she'd been shamelessly gawking and staring for the past two minutes. Manners could get bent when something this mind blowing was going on.

"Whatcha doing, pretty?" her favorite voice whispered in her ear as his arms encircled her waist.

"Thinking about how easy it must be for serial killers to hide in plain sight around here," she replied, turning to smile at him.

Edward chuckled.

"Should I be concerned about you leaving a trail of bodies across the US while were touring?" he asked.

Bella's smile faltered but she struggled to hold it. The thought of the tour made her stomach knot up. She was already ninety three percent sure that the tour was _not_ something she wanted to participate in. Sure, being backstage and going to parties with rockers sounded glamourous and awesome. But, Bella didn't want glamourous and awesome. She wanted chill and routine. Furthermore, she didn't fit in with the rock glitz and glamour. This party was just another example. The women here were flawless in their dresses tight as second skin and perfect makeup. Bella had thrown on leggings tonight because she hadn't had time to shave her legs and she was pretty sure the leather was chafing the fuck out of her thighs. Also, she'd already dropped a meatball in her lap. She was glad the dark fabric hid the stain but her inability to guide a damn meatball into her mouth said a lot about where her station in life should be.

But she also wanted Edward. That was where the seven percent of uncertainty came from.

"Nah, murder is messy. And exhausting. I'll stick with lashing out at people verbally," she said replied, turning to him. As always, she smiled when his soft green eyes met hers.

"Good deal. When you cross stateliness crime become federal and accompanying you to that kind of trail would really mess with the schedule," he told her.

Bella chuckled. She knew at some point she would have to have the conversation. Sack up and actually discuss her feelings on the whole situation. It wasn't something she looked forward to. Feelings were _not_ her forte.

"So where's the bathroom in this palace?" she asked.

"I can show you –"he began.

"Edward, this is Phil Dywer," Alice spoke, appearing out of the crowd. "He's doing some work with TAG this year."

It was amazing to watch as Edward turned on. The sweet, sarcastic guy that Bella had been chatting with faded immediately and the cocky rockstar took over. He didn't speak, only give the guy a nod and a quick hand shake. That little smirk that drove all the girls wild appeared.

"I'll be back," Bella said softly, with a chuckle. She turned and began making her way through the crowd.

The sudden appearance of Edward's work alter ego didn't bother her. In fact it gave her an opportunity to clear her head for a moment. It felt like her brain had been swirling since he dropped the tour bomb on her in the car. She wanted to have a few minutes without the fog that came along with being near him.

The inside of the house was as impressive as the outside. Lots of sparkling glass and chrome and cater waiters in starched white shirts and black pants circling through the kitchen to refill trays. The party was mostly contained outside but there were twos and threes of people in the front room. Bella angled away from that and found a hallway she was fairly certain would bring her to a bathroom. As lush as the rest of the house, the bathroom provided a double vanity and a water closet. Bella had only struggled the sticky leggings down her legs when voices outside the water closet door alerted her that she had forgotten to lock the outer door.

"So, he's into some pretty weird shit," she heard a female voice say.

"Like how weird?" asked a second voice.

Bella heaved an inaudible sigh. Not only was it incredibly awkward that she couldn't get away thanks to the legwear of doom but now she was accidently eavesdropping.

"He says he wants me to dress up in a school girl outfit, like pony tails and shit. And call him daddy. And he's really into anal," the first voice replied. The tone was more annoyed than revolted.

"Ugh, gross. Are you going to do it?" another question from voice two.

"Well, yeah, he said he can get me to a guy at Universal," answered the potential school girl.

Bella had heard enough. Just another example of LA and its seedy underbelly. Further conversation was hidden from her behind the sound of the toilet flushing and struggling her pants up. She hated to hear another woman making deals with devils just to get ahead. Those stories were dangerously close to the stories told by the women who she saw at the shelter. Sometimes, even one in the same.

Bella was surprised to find someone still standing at the vanity when she stepped out. It was a girl. She was clearly no more than fifteen despite the heavy make-up and revealing outfit she was wearing.

"Sorry," Bella said. "Forgot to lock the outer door."

As she stepped toward the sink to wash her hands the girl spoke and Bella felt her heart shatter to a thousand pieces.

"We're you eavesdropping?" the girl asked pointedly. It was the girl who had spoken about school girl outfits and ponytails. Shit a girl her age shouldn't be concerned about at all.

"I didn't mean to," Bella replied evenly. She met the girl's eyes in the mirror. She saw both determination and sadness that.

"Whatever, just mind your business, ok?" the girl's defenses were high. Her hands were on her hips but her tiny frame didn't intimidated the way she wanted it to.

Bella shrugged.

"Can I ask a question?" Bella asked. There was one last shred of hope in her that maybe she was wrong. Maybe this was a twenty one year old fully capable of making the kinds of decisions she was looking at. Maybe she just looked really young.

The girl shrugged defiantly.

"How old are you?" Bella kept her tone soft and calm, judgement free. Just like she did at work.

"Eight-teen," the girl snapped. "At least that's what it says on my id."

"Really?" Bella didn't really want to press on but she couldn't stand the idea that there was someone who clearly needed her help right in front of her and the chance was going to slip through her fingers.

The girl blew her bangs off her forehead with an exasperated huff.

"I'm fifteen," she said. "But I don't see how that's any of your business."

Bella swallowed hard. She dried her hands on a towel and turned to face the girl eye to eye. She wanted to be very careful with her next words.

"You know you don't have to do _anything_. I mean, if you think you do. You don't have to. I could help you," Bella said.

For just a moment the sadness that lurked in the back of the girl's eyes overwhelmed everything else. Bella wanted so badly to reach for her in that moment but she didn't. Sometimes that was the wrong thing to do. So she tried as best she could to put every ounce of compassion, understanding, and hope she could into her own expression. For just a moment she thought maybe. Then the girl's cold mask snapped back into place.

"Like I said, just mind your business," she snapped. She whisked past Bella and out the door.

Bella was helpless against the tears that cascaded down her cheeks.

 **A/N:** Congrats! You braved the errors! As always, thanks for reading.

Chapter Songs: Him and I – G Easy and Halsey

Celebrity Skin – Hole

Personal notes: I'm trying to make the leap into self-publishing. If you alerted my fic Fountainview Prep, you probably saw that I'm converting it into a regular fiction for release. It's just something I feel I want to try. If you'd like to follow my adventures into the world of publishing, you can check out my website www dot nikkolepruett dot com.

I also want to note that Where I Belong will finish here. I won't be pulling this when it's partly done and switching to publishing. I also won't abandon it. I can't promise there won't be breaks because I don't know what life will throw my way but we will get to completion here. Together.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: No Beta. Lots of errors. Proceed at your own risk.

It was a fairly comfortable seventy three degrees outside but Edward could feel sweat on the back of his neck. It made the shirt/tie combo he was wearing feel impossibly tight and uncomfortable. His discomfort had little to do with the weather. It had everything thing to do with the text message he had received twenty minutes ago.

I had to leave. Going home. Please don't worry.

He had realized something was wrong before he got the message. That Dwyer guy had been going on and on about TAG and Coachella and Edward had been interested at first. They'd never had the chance to play Coachella. And Bella would love it. She'd look adorable in a flower crown and her busted up old Chucks. As usual as soon at the thought of Bella crept into his conscience, she was his focus. His brow furrowed as it dawned on him that she had been off in the bathroom for quite some time. He gracefully exited the conversation going on around him and headed toward the house. He found the bathroom and his current problem of not being able to find his girl quickly became a secondary problem. Problem number one was Alec, silently slumped over the toilet.

"Son of a bitch," Edward cursed, rushing toward his friend.

His first instinct was to check Alec's pulse. He breathed a slight sigh of relief when he felt the thumping beneath his fingertips. No matter what, the situation wasn't as bad as it could have been. He gave Alec a shake.

"Hey, man, wake up," he said, firmly but not too loudly.

When that didn't work Edward stepped across the room to close and lock the door. The last thing he needed was for the wrong person to witness the scene at hand.

"Alec, wake the fuck up, dude," he said, more loudly this time and putting more force behind the shake.

This time he got a groan out of his bandmate.

"Alec," Edward said, as loudly as he dared. This time he delivered a couple of sharp slaps to Alec's exposed cheek.

"Wha? I'm up," Alec, groaned. His eyes fluttered but didn't focus and immediately closed.

"I swear to, God," Edward groaned, giving the other man a shake.

That finally did the trick. Alec's eyes finally opened all the way. It took him a few seconds to focus. When he did he sat back against the wall and looked at Edward.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Edward demanded, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "It's our fucking launch party, dude."

Alec raise a dismissive hand.

"I just nodded off. This party is boring as fuck," he sounded like a cranky little kid.

"What are you on?" Edward asked. He didn't give a shit if Alec thought watching paint dry would have been a better way to spend the evening. He only cared about solving the potential PR sitting in front of him.

"Jesus Christ, what are you my mother?" Alec asked.

He was starting to sound more aware. That made Edward a little more hopefully. Alec didn't come around quite so easily when he was on the harder stuff.

"I just had a Xanax with my cocktail…cocktails," Alec told him, sliding up the wall to his feet.

Edward shook his head. Again, he had to remind himself that it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

"Can you keep it together for the rest of the party or do we need to get Alice on this?" Edward asked, as Alec took a wobbly step forward.

Alec brushed off Edward's hand and straighten his shirt.

"I don't need Alice to fix me. I'm not you," he said, brushing past Edward. His exit was biting but it didn't have the dramatic effect he intended. A good parting line loses its bite if you stumble through the doorway on your way out.

Edward shook his head as he watched Alec disappear down the hall. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with that for another tour. More and more the tour was looking like it was going to be more stress than anything else. Balancing performing, taking care of Alec, and trying to make time for Bella would make every second jam packed. Thinking about the tour and Bella reminding him what he was doing in the house in the first place.

Edward headed back out thinking that he and Bella were probably just missing either other in passing. He scanned the crowd as he walked back out. Still no sight of her. He did, however, spot Alice. Alice did not look happy. When she saw him she darted toward him.

"What's Alec on?" she demanded.

Edward sighed deeply. Clearly he wasn't the only one who had spotted the problem on their hands.

"He said Xanax and booze," he told his sister. "Where is he?"

Alice nodded her head toward the pool. Alec was standing there alone and he was wobbling on his feet.

"Fuck," Edward cursed.

"Indeed," Alice agreed. "We've got to get him out of here."

"I'll get Garrett," he replied with a nod.

The two parted ways, Alice heading toward their problem child and Edward after reinforcements. Moments later they were doing a careful dance of easing Alec out of the party without raising the alarm. Garrett and Edward kept Alec between the two of him, moving him along despite his barely coherent protests, and Alice took the lead. She made a vague excuse about something coming up and guided them through the crowd in a manner that was both efficient but not alarming. Once again Edward marveled at his sister's ability to handle shit.

As they cleared the gate Edward felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he was immediately reminded that he needed to deposit Alec in an Uber as quickly as possible and get back to locating his girl. When they reached the front walk they deposited Alec on his ass on the sidewalk. Edward fished his phone out of his pocket as Garrett encouraged Alec to remain in a sitting position by nudging him with his foot. Despite the grim situation he couldn't help but chuckle. Even the dark mirth disappeared when he read the text message that was waiting for him.

"I'm going too," Edward said, without looking away from his phone. Alice had called a ride for Alec. She might as well know that Edward would be going with him. Meanwhile, his fingers flew over the letters, sending multiple messages asking Bella what the matter was.

"What?" Alice screeched.

"I have to leave," he said, only cutting his eyes toward her for a second. He couldn't bear to stop looking at the screen. He needed to know what was wrong.

"Please tell me what in God's name is so important that you need to leave when you already have a band member desperate to sabotage the night," his sister demanded.

"Bella left. I don't know why. I have to go find her," he said. He was impressed at how steady his voice sounded when he was shaking inside.

"Edward-"Alice began.

This time Edward looked at her.

"I'm going," he said.

Alice didn't argue anymore.

**WIB**

Bella was a wanderer. She did her best thinking, her best feeling sorting, while on the move. At home she had walked miles around town when she felt the need to sort through her thoughts. She couldn't do that in LA, of course, it wasn't safe. So she asked Tyler, the Uber driver, to just drive for a little while. He explained that wasn't really how Uber worked but he could get her somewhere she could get some help if she needed it. Like a hospital or the police station. That brought a fresh steam of tears down her cheeks. It hurt her heart to think about how many broken girls, girls that had been abused and used up, had sat in this backseat before her. It was like everywhere she turned the city was full of pain. She didn't have the energy to assure him she was ok so she just shook her head and gave him Edward's address.

She let herself in and reset the alarm. Back home she hadn't thought much about safety and making sure the house was locked up. Here it never left her mind. She knew that all of the girls at her work were hurt by people they knew but that didn't quite the nagging voice that told her to double check the locks on the windows.

In the kitchen she grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and stood in front of the spotless windows. To her the view was still as gorgeous as the first time she saw it but now it reminded her of the pictures in the highlights magazines at her pediatrician's office. Sure the picture was fun to look at but there was always something hiding.

Bella sighed. She felt like she was falling into a pit of gloom. Like she was looking for the darkness in everything around her instead of the light. For her, that was a very dangerous and scary path to start down. She had done the research on depression and the evidence of it being hereditary. She didn't want to end up like her mom. She shook her head to clear away the dark thoughts and headed to the bathroom. A nice, calming bath was what she needed.

She sprinkled lavender bath salt in the tub and turned the water on full blast. Her mind wandered back to the girl from the party. What about that girl's parents? Where were they? Did they know where she was? Did they care? That they might not care or worse yet, that they might be turning a blind eye to her plight, caused pain in Bella's heart. It made her thankful she had her dad to see her through the worst of times. It made her miss him. Her father may not have been around for her early childhood, he had been there for him when she needed him most, when her mom left.

She slipped out of her clothes and into the steamy water as the tub reached its filled point. She closed her eyes tight and held her breath. Under the water there was nothing but silence. The silence was nice, but soon, her lungs burned and she had to rise back up out of the water's cocoon. Was she being a wee bit overdramatic about everything? Probably. She just hadn't expected to feel everything the way she did. She didn't expect to bond with the women she worked with and take their pain into her own heart. She didn't expect to feel so damn helpless when she couldn't protect people. She didn't expect to feel so torn between falling into Edward's rock-star life and her normal one.

Edward was both the best part and most complicated part of all of this. While she hadn't said the words out loud, there was no doubt in her mind that she was in love with Edward Cullen. He hadn't said it either but she was fairly certain that he felt the same. It was in the way he looked at her. It was in the fact that he wanted her here with him. He wanted her on tour with him. That was part of the complication. He wanted so much he didn't take the time to understand what she wanted. Honestly, she wasn't sure what she wanted, but she did know that she needed time to figure it out. Everything just moved so fast with Edward.

As if her thoughts had summoned him, the bathroom door opened.

"Bella," he began. His brow was furrowed with worry.

He stopped speaking after he looked long and hard at her. Without talking he stripped out of his own clothes. Bella watched, her heavy thoughts giving way to admiration for his grace and beauty. Naked, he climbed into the large tub. He tucked himself behind her, her back to his chest, and wrapped his arms around her. He pressed kisses to the top of her head. In that moment she felt safe.

A/N: Chapter Songs: People Who Died – Jim Carroll Band

Come in Closer – Blue October

Sorry I haven't been replying to reviews. I swear I read and love every single one of them. I particularly love that y'all feel sooooo much for these characters. The road ahead of these two looks long at the moment so stick with them (and me!). I heart y'all so hard.


	19. Announcement

*****Hiatus*****

I apologize to anyone still following Where I Belong. It will eventually be finished (here, as I've said before. I will not pull and finish as a publication) but now isn't the time. Thank you to everyone who has supported this story.


End file.
